Recently, Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced that elections to all local government bodies would begin towards the end of this year. We welcome his statement. However, it is important to remember that school and college examinations are scheduled for the year-end period. Therefore, it is essential that these elections begin and conclude as quickly as possible.

Holding local government elections without delay is imperative because the establishment of elected local government institutions is a constitutional obligation. Article 59 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states that “Local government in every administrative unit of the Republic shall be entrusted to bodies, composed of persons elected in accordance with law.” In other words, elected district councils must govern districts, elected upazila parishads must govern upazilas, elected union parishads must govern unions, and similarly, elected representatives must administer city corporations and municipalities.

It is noteworthy that the Constitution specifically refers to entrusting “local governance” to elected representatives. This means that elected representatives are meant to oversee all matters at their respective administrative levels, just as the elected central government administers affairs at the national level.