Staff Reporter :
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has raised concerns over the recent local elections, noting that public interest has been severely ignored.
TIB reported that approximately 79 percent of the elected candidates in the Upazila elections come from business backgrounds. The organisation suggested that many candidates seem more focused on accumulating wealth through the abuse of power than prioritising public welfare.
“This trend poses a significant risk to the future of good governance, democracy, and anti-corruption efforts in the country,” TIB stated during a press conference at its office in the capital on Sunday.
The event included the presentation of a final analysis of the affidavits of candidates and elected representatives from the 6th Upazila Council election.
TIB’s analysis of the candidates’ affidavits revealed significant increases in the income and assets of public representatives over the past five years.
The income of public representatives increased by up to 31,900 percent, while the assets of their spouses and dependents surged by 12,400 percent. During the same period, the movable assets of chairmen increased by 11,666 percent.
Additionally, the income of a winning candidate in the sixth Upazila Parishad election rose by 10,866.67 percent, and their immovable assets grew by 23,937.65 percent.
“This trend signals a troubling pattern of rapid wealth accumulation during their tenure,” TIB remarked.
TIB’s analysis also revealed a persistent dominance of business candidates, similar to national elections.
This figure stood at 57.36 percent, marking an eight percent increase compared to the fourth Upazila election. Notably, 69 percent of chairmen, 68.16 percent of vice chairmen, and 28 percent of women vice chairmen hail from business backgrounds.
Among the winning candidates, the rate of business-affiliated individuals has increased by 6.5 percent in the last five years.
Of the winning chairman candidates, 79 percent were businessmen. Additionally, 15.79 percent of candidates have direct ties to business organisations.
Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, the Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), has voiced grave concerns over the emerging trend of power abuse and wealth accumulation in politics, which is overshadowing public interest.
“While public interest should be the focus, a troubling competition driven by power abuse is emerging under the guise of public representation.
The affidavits of the candidates are portraying the power-centric, ill competition,” Dr. Iftekharuzzaman remarked.
He highlighted how being in power offers endless opportunities to amass wealth without accountability, with public representative positions becoming licenses for self-enrichment through direct, indirect, and collusive power abuse.
This situation, he warned, marginalises those who wish to pursue pro-people politics and creates political monsters beyond control.
Dr. Iftekharuzzaman also pointed out significant inconsistencies in affidavit and tax return data, revealing that 40 percent of candidates reported no taxable income.
He urged institutions like the Election Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and National Board of Revenue (NBR) to promptly investigate these irregularities, emphasising the importance of accountability and corruption control.
Expressing concern over the lack of visible action, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman highlighted growing governance challenges and corruption threats to democracy.
TIB’s analysis of the affidavits revealed alarming statistics. 7.13 percent, or 390 candidates, possess wealth exceeding one crore taka, with the number of billionaires tripling in the last five years. Among elected candidates, 12.37 percent, or 150 individuals, are millionaires, and 30.41 percent of the elected chairmen are millionaires.
Furthermore, the organisation found income disparity among the candidates, with 23 percent of chairman candidates earning over 16.5 lakh taka compared to only 3.03 percent of other candidates.