Local Government Reform Commission to propose holding all elections in one day
Commission's Chairman Tofael Ahmed says holding all local government elections on the same day will save both money and time
The Local Government Reform Commission is set to propose holding all local government elections on the same day to save both money and time, the commission's Chairman Tofael Ahmed said today (29 December).
Speaking at a views-exchange meeting with members of civil society in Chattogram he said, "Elections are not only time-consuming but also require the deployment of various law enforcement personnel and government employees, which incurs huge costs."
Mentioning that Tk23,000 crore was spent to hold various local government elections during the last four years of the Awami League regime, he said these elections not only involved a significant amount of money but also took over 200 days.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"If we can hold all the elections—including union parishad, upazila parishad, city corporation, municipality, and zila parishad—on the same day, it would cost only Tk600 crore and take just 40 days," he added.
Tofael also said, "We have received recommendations to transform local government into a presidential council system, where chairpersons will be elected by the members, mayors will be elected by the councilors, and they will perform duties in rotation."
He also mentioned that the commission is planning a district-based local government system, where districts will act as hubs. "Development planning and project implementation will be conducted by the local government," he explained.
Speakers at the meeting emphasised the need to set educational qualifications for local government representatives to qualify as candidates for elections.
They also recommended reforming the local government system to prevent interference by members of parliament in the decision-making process.
The meeting, chaired by Divisional Commissioner of Chattogram Mohammad Ziauddin, was attended by members of the reform commission, including Professor Ferdows Afreena Osman, Abdur Rahman, Mahfuz Kabir, educationist Professor Sikandar Khan, Chattogram City Corporation Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Muhammad Towhidul Islam, and Chattogram Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner Mohammad Asfikuzzaman Akter, among others.
