Uncertainty has emerged over amending the local government (union parishad) law ahead of the first phase of Union Parishad (UP) elections. The government did not table the amendment as a bill during the national parliament’s third session.
The commission believes parliament will not be in session before the first phase’s schedule is announced, meaning the amendment is unlikely to pass through parliament soon. At the same time, with parliament functioning and a strong opposition active, the commission is also unsure whether the government will pass the amendment as an ordinance with presidential approval.
Given this, the commission is considering writing to the government if its proposed legal amendment is not passed before the first phase of voting. That letter could request that the amendment not be passed until voting in the remaining phases is complete. Election commissioners held informal discussions on the matter Sunday (September 13).
Several EC officials said that without the legal amendment, there is no legal basis to disqualify full-time teachers, officials and staff of MPO-listed institutions, or dual citizens, from running in elections. They explained that local government laws do not classify teacher or staff posts at MPO-listed educational institutions as “profitable” positions. Under clauses 11.17(a) and (b) of the staffing structure and MPO policy for non-government educational institutions (schools and colleges), an MPO-listed teacher or staff member cannot hold more than one post or job, or any other financially profitable position simultaneously. Local government posts are not included among those classified as profitable.
Additionally, in Writ Petition No. 6366/2009, the High Court Division did not interpret the post of municipal mayor as a profitable position. It has also observed that it would be beyond the Election Commission’s jurisdiction to classify other local government posts as profitable.
Asked about the matter, election commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said: “We want the same law to apply to all elections. If one set of rules applies to one election and another to a different one, it creates discrimination. It will raise questions in the minds of the general public.”
It is learned that the EC secretariat has prepared a list of union parishads after verifying data from election officials and the local government ministry. Of the country’s 4,580 union parishads, more than 4,200 have been identified as election-ready. Of those, more than 3,900 are ready to hold votes in September.
Around 500 union parishads have also seen their electoral terms expire. This time, the commission is planning to hold voting on the same day across all election-ready UPs within a given upazila. Discussions are under way to hold voting in 500 to 700 UPs in the first phase and 900 to 1,000 in the second, with relatively fewer UPs included in the later phases.