Shujan for amending law to make dist councils effective
Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) today said electoral system and some legal provisions should be amended to make the district council bodies truly effective and functional.
If the district council electoral system and some other provisions of the District Council (Amendment) Act, 2016 are not revised, the district councils would turn ineffective and worthless, it said.
Shujan, a citizens' platform advocating good governance, came up with the claim at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity this morning.
Only the elected representatives of different local government bodies cast their votes to elect a chairman--15 general members and five women members in reserved seats in each district council--according to the District Council (Amendment) Act, 2016.
The elected representatives of each district include chairmen and members of union parishads; chairmen and vice-chairmen of upazila parishads and mayors and councillors of municipalities and city corporations.
“We want a change in the electoral system… the district council should be constituted through direct votes of people instead of votes by elected representatives of different local government bodies,” said a statement of Shujan.
Besides, the act has a provision that says local parliament members should be kept as advisers of the district councils. This provision should be scrapped, Shujan demanded.
The act also gives the power to district councils to play a supervisory role over upazila parishad and municipalities. This provision will act as a major barrier to perform upazila parishad and municipalities independently, the rights body thinks.
“We think the district council will be effective and able to play due role at local –level development, if the legal provisions are amended,” it said.
In the function, Shujan also came up with a synopsis of the backgrounds of the recently-elected chairmen of district councils after scrutinising their affidavits submitted to the returning officers (RO) with their nomination papers.
Out of 64 districts across the country, 59 district councils were held on December 28. Elections to three hilly districts --Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari -- were not held. Besides, polling in chairman posts at Bogra and Kushtia were postponed due to legal complications.
The elections witnessed use of black money, violence and violation of electoral code by lawmakers in different areas. But the EC did not take any action against the lawmakers, Shujan claimed.
Of the newly elected 59 chairmen, 45 are graduates, eight completed Higher Secondary Certificate ( HSC), one completed Secondary School Certificate (SSC), four could not complete school education, while educational background of one chairman-elect was not available.
In case of profession, 38 are businessmen, eight lawyers, five service-holders, six are in agro-business and the rest are involved with different professions.
Talking about criminal record, only two chairmen-elect are accused of criminal cases, while 15 faced criminal charges in past.
Addressing the function, Shujan secretary Badiul Alam Majumder said the people do not have trust on the country’s electoral system as he said the system has reached the verge of destruction.
He also hoped the new Election Commission (EC), which will be reconstituted on February, will play bold and efficient role in reviving a healthy culture in electoral system.
Shujan’s senior officials Dilip Kumar Sarker, Zakir Hossain, among others, also spoke at the function.
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