DSCC, DNCC polls likely next month

The Election Commission (EC) plans to hold elections to the two city corporations -- Dhaka south and north -- on the same day towards the end of next month.

More importantly, EC officials said Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) polls will be held using electronic voting machines (EVMs), instead of traditional ballot papers.

“We’ve decided on principle to arrange the polls in January, and declare the schedules this month,” Election Commissioner Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury told the news agency.

EC Senior Secretary Md Alamgir said the EC will arrange the polls in the last week of January next year and declare election schedules by the end of December. “The elections will be held using EVMs,” he said.

The commission will soon finalise the specific dates both for the voting and schedule, said EC officials. The EC Secretariat is now taking preparations to hold the polls with the existing voter list, as the country’s updated voter roll will be made public after the two elections.

The officials said the EC secretariat has already initiated a move to enlist election officials -- presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling agents -- for the polls.

It has sent a letter to the Dhaka district election officer and thana election officers concerned to prepare an initial list in this regard, they added.

The 180-day countdown for the EC to complete elections has already started as the two city corporations opened for polls in mid-November. DNCC was up for election on November 14, while DSCC on November 18.

According to the Local Government (City Corporation) Act 2009, election to any city corporation should be held within the last 180 days of its five-year tenure, that starts with the first meeting of the corporation.

The last polls to the two city corporations and Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) were held on April 28, 2015. But the first meeting of DNCC was held on May 14, while DSCC on May 17 and CCC on August 6 the same year.

So DSCC’s five-year tenure will expire on May 13, 2020, while that of DNCC on May 16 and CCC on August 5, 2020.

The EC is yet to take any decision regarding CCC polls.

Meanwhile, the boundaries of DSCC and DNCC have been extended with the incorporation of 36 new wards -- 18 in south and 18 in north -- after the last elections.

The DNCC mayoral post fell vacant following the death of Annisul Huq on November 30, 2017. The by-election was held on February 28 this year. Besides, the by-polls to councillor posts of the 36 new wards were held the same day.

But now the 48 councillors -- 36 general and 12 from reserved seats -- who were elected from the new wards want more time to serve as councillors. They also applied to the EC seeking extended time, arguing that a councillor is usually elected for a tenure of five years, said EC officials.

In this regard, the EC secretary said their argument is not logical as the five-year tenure is applicable for the city corporation and not for any mayor or councillor according to the law.

Referring to Article 6 of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009, he said, “The law states that the tenure of a corporation shall be five years from its first meeting after its formation.”

There are some 54 lakh voters in the capital’s two city corporations. Of them, 30.36 lakh are under 54 wards in DNCC and 23.67 lakh under 75 wards in DSCC.

In the upcoming elections, the number of possible polling stations will be 2,500 in the two cities.

The elections will be held for a mayoral post, 75 councillor posts and 25 reserved seats (exclusively for women) in DSCC and a mayoral post, 54 councillor posts and 18 reserved seats in DNCC.