‘EC, courts to decide who can join in local polls’

The Election Commission and the courts will determine who is eligible to contest the upcoming local government elections in accordance with existing laws, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Sunday.

“The local government elections will be held on a non-partisan basis. It is for the courts and the Election Commission to decide who can contest and who cannot,” Rizvi told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka.

He made the remarks when asked whether Awami League leaders would be allowed to participate in the polls.

Responding to Jamaat-e-Islami’s request to bar Awami League leaders from contesting, Rizvi said the matter should be settled strictly under the law, regardless of demands made by any political party.

“The Election Commission is responsible for determining eligibility under the existing laws and new legal provisions. We are leaving the matter to the Commission,” he said. Rizvi said the BNP’s highest policymaking body would decide how its candidates would participate in the elections, which are expected to be held without party symbols.

“No decision has yet been taken regarding candidate selection or party support,” he added.

On the BNP’s next national council, Rizvi said the event would be held, although its date had not yet been finalised.

Earlier, a three-member BNP delegation submitted the party’s audited financial statement for 2025 to EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.

According to the statement, the BNP earned Tk 22.20 crore and spent Tk 15.26 crore in 2025, recording a surplus of nearly Tk 6.94 crore.

The party began the year with an opening balance of Tk 21.14 crore and ended it with a total balance of Tk 28.07 crore.

The delegation also included BNP Treasurer and State Minister for Civil Aviation M Rashiduzzaman Millat and Assistant Office Secretary Monir Hossain.