THE appointment of Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders as administrators to six city corporations — Dhaka South, Dhaka North, Khulna, Sylhet, Narayanganj and Gazipur — warrants careful reflection. After the 2024 mass uprising, elected representatives were removed from 12 city corporations, 330 municipalities, 497 upazila councils and several district councils. Now, nearly all local government institutions but for union councils, are run by administrators. The BNP government followed the same strategy and appointed administrators to major urban centres. The people appointed include BNP leaders who lost in the national elections, district-level party presidents and conveners. While the government has acted within the framework of the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, legality alone does not resolve deep concerns about the spirit of democratic governance. The rushed appointment without exploring the possibilities of non-partisan experts as city administrator signals a return of partisan control in city corporations rather than a departure from past governance failures.
City corporations and other local government agencies, mandated to oversee planning, public health and waste management and serving as pillars of local democracy, remained hubs of corruption in the past. There is now an investigation pending against the Dhaka North City Corporation administrator Mohammad Azaz, who was appointed by the interim government. In November 2025, the Anti-Corruption Commission launched an inquiry into allegations of the abuse of power, irregularities, corruption and bribery against the city administrator. In the past, local government institutions mostly served interests of the ruling quarters more than those of the people. Reclaiming their democratic and service-orientated role now requires credible local government elections. The appointment of political leaders in the institutions before the elections, however, risks influencing the forthcoming electoral process. When such institutions are placed under the stewardship of active political leaders of the ruling party, concern about partisan influence inevitably arises. Administrators vested with the full authority of elected mayors may wield broad discretionary power without direct electoral accountability. Decisions on procurement, development priorities, staffing and resource allocation can shape the political landscape before local elections. The local government minister says that the appointment will not delay elections. Timely elections are important, but more important in a democratic transition are the holding of credible elections and restoration of the integrity of public institutions.
The BNP government should recognise that the wholesale replacement of local leadership with party loyalists risks keeping state institutions perpetually politicised. It still has an opportunity to set a different precedent by exercising restraint in the use of interim administrative power and expediting credible local elections, ensuring a level playing field for all parties. A decisive victory in the parliamentary election does not guarantee a democratic renewal, it is guaranteed by how judiciously power is exercised.
