Upazila polls from May

The long overdue polls to upazila parishads will start being held in May, six months ahead of the timeframe stipulated in the electoral roadmap of the Election Commission (EC), according to an announcement made by the LGRD adviser yesterday.
LGRD and Cooperatives Adviser M Anwarul Iqbal at an event in Khulna disclosed the government's plan saying, elections to 100 of the 482 upazila parishads will start being held in May as voter registration in 80 upazilas has already been completed.
Voter registration in the rest of the 20 upazilas is also scheduled to be completed in the next couple of days, and the commission is currently preparing to begin publication of draft voter lists of the upazilas, to have the final electoral rolls with photographs ready in a month, sources in the EC Secretariat said.
So elections to some upazila parishads can be held by the end of May through lifting or relaxing the state of emergency in the areas, the sources added.
Political leaders holding party posts however might not be allowed to contest in the upazila parishad elections, as the EC has a plan to break free the crucial tier of the local government system from the grip of partisan politics, the EC sources said.
If the EC's plans are made into laws, political leaders holding party posts will have to resign from the posts before filing for candidacies in upazila elections.
The EC already drafted proposals for barring political leaders holding party posts from contesting in polls to city corporations and municipalities, and it plans to draft similar proposals for the upazila elections too, the sources said.
"The qualifications and disqualifications for candidacy will be almost the same for all local governments including upazila parishads," Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain told The Daily Star on Tuesday.
The council of advisers to the caretaker government on January 27 this year decided in principle to revoke the hitherto authority of the members of parliament (MP) to interfere in the functioning of upazila parishads, by amending the Upazila Parishads Law 1998.
The council also decided at that meeting, to re-empower the EC with its lost authority to announce the schedules for upazila parishad elections, taking it back from the hands of the central government, but the government has yet to finalise it.
Against such a backdrop, the LGRD adviser, who on Monday had met the EC to discuss holding of the local government elections, yesterday specified the timeframe for starting to hold the elections.
Election commissioners --- Muhammed Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain, however told journalists yesterday that the EC has yet to decide when the upazila elections will be held.
After a meeting with the LGRD adviser on Monday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda said the EC decided in principle to hold the upazila elections, but it has yet to decide when those will be held.
The commission is now preparing to hold polls to four city corporations and seven municipalities by the end of April or in early May, for which the caretaker government assured the commission of creating a conducive environment, by lifting or relaxing the state of emergency, which has been banning all sorts of political activities since January 11 of last year.
Major political parties including Awami League, BNP, and Jamaat-e-Islami have been vehemently opposing holding of polls to local governments before holding the stalled ninth parliamentary election, saying, holding of the former beforehand will end up hampering the preparations for holding the latter by the year end.
Besides, they have also been claiming that elections to local governments prior to the parliamentary election will end up jeopardising the neutrality and credibility of the upcoming parliamentary election, since military governments did that in the past to ensure sweeping victories of their lackeys in parliamentary elections.
The military backed caretaker government however wants to begin holding the long overdue upazila elections before the upcoming parliamentary election fearing that the next elected partisan government might evade forming the important tier of the local government system.
Policymakers of the government believe, if polls to some upazilas are held before the stalled ninth parliamentary election, the next elected government will be compelled to hold polls to the rest of the upazila parishads, the EC sources said.
The EC is also in favour of holding polls to different local governments before the parliamentary poll because, according to its claim, it has field level information that shows the people want the commission to begin holding local government elections during the regime of the caretaker government, thinking the polls held during its regime have a higher chance of being free and fair.
The commission yesterday morning at a meeting with top officials of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), on the EC Secretariat premises, discussed the present situation in the country vis-à-vis holding of the polls, the sources said.
Asked about the meeting, Election Commissioner Sakhawat told The Daily Star that the EC has been receiving very positive information regarding a suitable environment in the country for holding the elections according to the electoral roadmap.
The EC in its electoral roadmap, announced on July 15 of last year, declared that it would begin holding polls to city corporations, municipalities, and union parishads in January, 2008 and continue till December.
About holding the upazila elections after 17 years, the EC in the electoral roadmap said the polls would be held between November and December of 2008, while the stalled ninth parliamentary election would be held by the year end.
Over the last few months, a number of advisers to the caretaker government have been saying that polls to upazila parishads should be held simultaneously with the parliamentary election, to cut down election expenses.
But on last Monday, the LGRD adviser at a meeting with the EC said the upazila elections should be held before the parliamentary election.
The first election to upazila parishads was held in 1985 after its introduction in the local government system during the regime of military ruler HM Ershad. But the very existence of the upazila parishads faced a severe crisis following the second election to them in 1990, when Ershad stepped down in the face of a mass movement.
A BNP government assumed state power in 1991 and dissolved the upazila system. The Supreme Court in a judgment in 1992 directed the erstwhile government to hold elections to upazila parishads soon, but the BNP government did not comply with it during its tenure.
Assuming power through a victory in the 1996 general election, Awami League passed the Upazila Parishad Act in 1998.
The immediate past BNP-led alliance government, which came to power through a victory in the 2001 general election, moved to hold the upazila parishad elections this time around and formed a cabinet committee for the purpose. But the committee members failed to reach a consensus on holding the polls.
All those governments however also sought extensions of time on many occasions from the Supreme Court to comply with its directives for holding the upazila parishad polls.
UPAZILAS READY FOR POLLS
The EC, that began the field level job of preparing the national voter list with photographs in August of last year, already has completed registering voters in 80 upazilas till last month. The upazilas where voter registration has been completed are: Panchagar Sadar, Thakurgaon Sadar, Nilphamari Sadar, Dinajpur Sadar, Taraganj, Rangpur Sadar, Gongachhara, Lalmonirhat Sadar, Aditmari, Gaibandha Sadar, Joypurhat Sadar, Naogaon Sadar, Dhupchachian, Kahalu, Bogra Sadar, Natore Sadar,Tanore, Chapainawabganj Sadar, Puthia, Poba, Pabna Sadar, Kushtia Sadar, Meherpur Sadar, Chuadanga Sadar, Jhenidah Sadar, Jessore Sadar, Narail Sadar, Satkhira Sadar, Rupsha, Bagerhat Sadar, Gopalganj Sadar, Faridpur Sadar, Rajbari Sadar, Manikganj Sadar, Savar, Delduar, Tangail Sadar, Polash, Narayanganj Sadar, Munshiganj Sadar, Sariatpur Sadar, Madaripur Sadar, Gaurnadi, Jhalakathi Sadar, Patuakhali Sadar, Mirzaganj, Noakhali Sadar, Raipur, Chandpur Sadar, Comilla Sadar, Brahmanbaria Sadar, Ashuganj, Sarail, Kishoreganj Sadar, Habiganj Sadar, Maulvibazar Sadar, Golapganj, Sunamganj Sadar, Tahirpur, Netrakona Sadar, Bandarban Sadar, Sitakunda, Rauzan, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Feni Sadar, Jamalpur Sadar, Mymensingh Sadar, Muktagachha, Fulbaria, and Shahjahanpur.