Jamaat-e-Islami yesterday demanded that individuals who were politically appointed as administrators of various local government bodies be barred from contesting the upcoming local government elections.
The party said such people could have an undue advantage in the electoral race by using government allocations and development activities to boost their chances.
A six-member Jamaat delegation made the demand, among nine others, at a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and other election commissioners at the Election Commission building in Dhaka yesterday.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said the party had already objected to such appointments at various local government institutions, including district and upazila councils, city corporations and development authorities.
“We fear that these appointments are creating opportunities for them to prepare the ground for the local government elections. Therefore, we have demanded that they should not be allowed to contest the upcoming local polls, even if they resign after the schedule is announced,” he said.
Jamaat also reiterated its demand to retain the right of MPO-listed teachers to contest local government elections.
“A person [MPO-listed teacher] can contest a parliamentary election but cannot contest a Union Parishad election -- this is discriminatory,” he said.
Jamaat also demanded that leaders and office-bearers of any political party whose activities were banned by the government should be ineligible to contest the polls.
On May 12, 2024, the then interim government banned the political activities of the Awami League, and the EC subsequently suspended the registration of the party, which had ruled the country for nearly 16 years before being ousted in a mass uprising in 2024.
The party also sought restrictions on ministers, members of parliament and other influential government figures taking part in local election campaigns.
Porwar said the EC was considering incorporating such restrictions into the electoral code of conduct.
The party also raised serious concerns over the appointment of Shamsul Alam as an additional secretary to the EC, claiming that he had previously served on the election affairs committee of a political party.
“Such an appointment should not be made at a constitutional institution if it raises questions about the institution’s neutrality,” Porwar said.
He also spoke about Jamaat’s preparations for the local government elections, saying its local units had been asked to prepare and begin selecting potential candidates.
However, as the elections will not be held under party symbols, Jamaat will not officially nominate candidates, he said. Candidates will contest as independents.
Besides the CEC, Election Commissioners Abdur Rahmanel Masud and Anwarul Islam Sarkar, and EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed attended the meeting.
