Polls under caretaker government21 Apr 2025 10:01
Https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/elections/news/local-polls-too-should-be-held-under-caretaker-3876171
Local polls too should be held under caretaker
Recommends local govt reform commission, submits report to CA
Staff correspondent
Mon Apr 21, 2025 12:06 AM Last update on: Mon Apr 21, 2025 01:46 PM
The Local Government Reform Commission has proposed holding all local government elections under a single schedule before the next national election.
The voter list being prepared for the national election can be utilised in the local government polls, according to the full report of the commission submitted to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday.
Elections to all local government bodies, including those in the hill tracts, could be held this year, reads the report.
To do this, an ordinance can be issued to enact two laws regarding the five local government bodies -- union parishad, upazila parishad, municipality, zila parishad, and city corporation.
The two laws would consolidate five existing laws and regulations to ensure a free and robust local government system, says the report.
The commission recommended forming a permanent local government commission which may get these tasks done by this June.
In future, local government elections should be held during the tenure of caretaker governments, reads the report.
Prof Tofail Ahmed, head of the reform commission, said the decision regarding local government polls can be made collectively by the government and political parties.
"However, we strongly advocate for holding local government elections immediately, as there is currently a leadership vacuum at the union, upazila, and zila levels across the country," he said while addressing a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy after submitting the report.
Upon receiving the report, the chief adviser expressed his strong commitment to transparency and public engagement with the reform process, according to the Chief Adviser's Press Wing. "Let us not delay. These reforms must move from paper to practice as soon as possible," he said.
Tofail said, "We are recommending that the Consensus Commission review and reflect on the report."
The commission's report also identifies critical challenges facing urban local bodies, particularly the Dhaka city corporations.
"Departmental inefficiencies and rampant bribery remain persistent," Tofail said. "From large infrastructure projects to everyday services, corruption flows through multiple layers — project-level, service-level, and inter-departmental. Unless we address these, effective governance will remain a dream."
The interim government formed the eight-member Local Government Reform Commission led by local governance expert Prof Tofail Ahmed in November last year. It submitted a preliminary report on February 19.
The commission also made around 180 other recommendations that include handing over the tasks of 30 government of
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