Jamaat blames govt of delaying UP polls

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has accused the government of deliberately delaying union parishad (UP) elections and appointing party-affiliated administrators to gain control over the local government system.

In a statement issued to the media on Thursday, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said people expected elected representatives to take charge of all tiers of local government after the country returned to a democratic path through the February 12 parliamentary election and referendum.

He alleged that the BNP-led government had been delaying local government elections while appointing administrators to city corporations, municipalities, upazila parishads and, most recently, union parishads.
Citing data from the Local Government Division, Porwar said around 311 of more than 4,500 union parishads were currently eligible for elections.

He claimed that administrators had been appointed to at least 38 union parishads, including seven newly formed ones, over the past two months. Of these, he said, 19 were in Barishal district.

Porwar further alleged that 12 BNP leaders had been appointed as members of Rupganj Union Parishad in Narayanganj.

He described the appointments as part of a “conspiracy” to obstruct the democratic process in the long run.

The Jamaat leader also referred to State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam’s announcement that elections to five tiers of local government would be held this year.

Questioning the continued appointment of administrators with only four months remaining in the year, Porwar alleged that the appointments could create opportunities for corruption and provide the ruling party with an unfair advantage in upcoming local government elections.

He demanded the immediate withdrawal of all party-affiliated administrators and called for them to be barred from contesting the upcoming local government elections.