Local government, rural development and cooperatives minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said that the decision on whether local government elections would be held under party symbols would be taken in the parliament.
‘It will be decided in the parliament,’ he said while talking to reporters at the secretariat after newly appointed administrators of six city corporations joined their offices.
Since government officials had previously been assigned to oversee city corporations, the government believes political appointees would be able to deliver better services to the people.
‘If political persons are in charge, people will receive services more effectively. That is our belief. That is why, we have appointed political individuals as administrators. This will increase engagement with citizens,’ he added.
Responding to a question about whether the issue would be decided in the first session of parliament scheduled to begin on March 12, he replied, ‘Of course.’
The minister said that elections would begin in local government bodies whose terms had already expired.
‘There is a possibility that two elections may be held before those in Dhaka. Others whose tenure has ended will also go to polls first,’ he added.
Regarding the timeframe for completing the local government elections, he said, ‘It is a continuous process. It cannot be said right now.’
Elections will be held in phases. Local government elections are a continuous process—when one body’s tenure ends, elections are held, whether it is a union parishad or an upazila, he said.
State minister for local government Mir Shahe Alam said that political administrators would be able to perform better than bureaucrats due to their closer engagement with the public.
He said that political administrators had been appointed to make inactive local government bodies functional.
After joining office, the six newly appointed administrators pledged to work on mosquito control, traffic congestion, road repairs and other civic issues to reduce public suffering.
They said that they would undertake a 60-day action plan to ensure improved service delivery.
