AL vs 20-party
The ruling Awami League has decided to participate in the municipality elections independently but its archrival BNP would contest the December 30 polls under the 20-party banner.
The decisions were taken at separate meetings yesterday, sources said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the AL chief, chaired the ruling party meeting at the Gono Bhaban while BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia presided over the 20-party alliance meeting at her Gulshan office.
AL MEETING
Though the AL contested the last two parliamentary elections under the banner of 14-party allies, its Central Working Committee this time has decided to contest the upcoming polls in 236 municipalities independently.
At the meeting, the party decided to form a seven-member committee in each municipality to pick a single mayor candidate. The presidents and general secretaries of the AL's district, upazila and municipality units concerned, and the local lawmaker would be in the committees, meeting sources said.
The committees would send the names to Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi office by November 30 for the central committee's approval. The final list of nominated mayor contenders would be finalised by December 3, the deadline for filing nominations.
If any municipality-level committee fails to pick a single candidate, they will have to send several names from which the AL Parliamentary Board would pick one.
The meeting also decided to take tough organisational action against rebel candidates.
The AL would send the directives to its grassroots units today, sources confirmed.
The ruling party also decided to write to the Election Commission on Sunday, requesting it to allow lawmakers to electioneer for their party-backed candidates in the municipal polls.
The electoral code of conduct bars anyone enjoying government facilities -- including ministers, MPs and government officials -- from joining election campaigns in the local government polls.
At the meeting, AL Presidium Member Mohammad Nasim said that since the elections were being held on party lines, it would help the BNP to revive.
In response, Hasina said multiple strong political parties were a must for strengthening democracy, according to meeting sources.
BNP MEETING
Though the BNP has decided to contest the polls under the 20-party coalition banner, it did not make any formal announcement about it.
"But all the alliance members have agreed on this," National People's Party Chairman Fariduzzaman Farhad told The Daily Star after the meeting last night.
The coalition will field a single candidate for each mayoral post, said Farid whose party is member of the BNP-led combine.
General Secretary Saifuddin Moni of National Democratic Party, another component of the alliance, said all the combine members were asked to submit the list of their party-backed candidates to BNP chief Khaleda Zia by today.
After getting all the lists, she will pick 236 names as the final mayor contenders.
The 20-party's decision on joining the polls is likely to be announced on tomorrow, Moni added.
Briefing the press after the one-and-a-half-hour meeting, BNP Spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon said, "The meeting elaborately discussed the municipality elections. Like the BNP senior leaders, the leaders of other alliance members entrusted our chairperson with taking the final decision on joining the elections."
BNP insiders said the party, which along with its allies boycotted the last parliamentary election, has almost finalised the list of its mayoral candidates for the upcoming municipality polls.
The party yesterday also formed a six-member election coordination committee comprising BNP Standing Committee Member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Vice Chairman Abdullah Al Noman, Khaleda's adviser Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, BNP Spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon and central leader Imran Saleh Prince.
It also constituted 19 committees, headed by senior party leaders, to conduct electioneering in favour of their candidates and monitor the elections.
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