EC halts elections to 3 municipalities

13 August 2013, 18:47 PM

UPDATED 14 August 2013, 00:54 AM

Pankaj Karmakar

In a bizarre move, the Election Commission yesterday postponed the September 8 polls to three municipalities as desired by the LGRD ministry. The EC on July 31 had announced the schedule for holding polls to Sreepur Municipality of Gazipur, Dupchanchia of Bogra and Nawhata of Rajshahi. But in the meantime, the local government and rural development (LGRD) ministry requested the EC to postpone the polls to enable it to redraw the boundaries of the municipalities, said an EC notification. Yesterday was the last day for filing of nomination papers for the polls. A senior official at the EC secretariat said he could not recollect any such recent incident of the postponement of scheduled municipality polls in line with a request by the LGRD ministry. The EC had declared the polls schedule after confirming that there were no complications in the holding of the municipality polls, he added. Former election commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain termed the postponement of the elections by the EC a bad precedent. “It seems that the Election Commission can't take any decision independently. It can't work according to its will,” he told The Daily Star. The LGRD ministry should not have requested the EC to postpone the polls, observed Sakhawat. “Once the Election Commission announces the schedule, the LGRD ministry doesn't have any jurisdiction to seek a postponement of the polls,” he noted. Defending the EC move, Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz said holding elections to local government bodies depends on the wishes of the LGRD ministry. As per electoral laws, the ministry creates the ground for the polls and the EC only conducts the elections, he added. “So, the Election Commission has to consider any requirements of the ministry regarding local government elections. That is why the commission has postponed the polls,” he insisted. The Local Government (municipalities) Act, 2009 empowers the LGRD ministry to redraw the boundaries of the municipalities and the EC to conduct the polls. The LGRD ministry in several letters to the EC requested it not to hold the overdue elections to Chandpur, Fulbaria of Mymensingh, Manikganj, Chuadanga and Shariatpur municipalities. The EC had been preparing to announce the polls schedules for these municipalities.