The interim government council of advisers in a meeting on Thursday scrapped the provision of using party symbols in local elections, deciding that from now on these elections would be held with individual symbols.
The council held its regular meeting on Thursday morning at the Chief Adviser鈥檚 Office, beginning with a minute of silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the tragic plane crash at Milestone School and College at Uttara.
The regular council meeting with chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair approved amendment ordinances related to local government: the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, the Upazila Parishad (Amendment) Ordinance聽 2025, the Local Government (Municipality) (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, and the Local Government (Union Parishad) (Amendment) Ordinance 2025.
Due to scrapping of the provision of using party symbols in local polls, the candidates in all local government elections 鈥� including city corporations, municipalities, upazila parishads, and union parishads 鈥� will now contest on individual symbols rather than party banners, local government adviser Asif Mahmud said.
In 2015, during the tenure of Awami League-led government, the decision was made to introduce political party symbols in local government elections and the relevant laws were amended accordingly.
The adviser said that the reform commissions 鈥� particularly the Electoral Reform Commission and the Local Government Reform Commission 鈥� recommended removing party symbols from local elections.
He also said that election experts and various civic groups had long been calling for an end to party affiliation in local polls.
鈥榃e have seen in the past that having the ruling party鈥檚 symbol gave certain candidates undue advantage, often leading to violence, irregularities and in, some cases, victory by force,鈥� Asif Mahmud said.
He hoped that this reform would bring positive change to the local government system while qualified candidates would be elected based on merit and public support in future elections.
Replying to the question whether local government elections would be held before national elections, the adviser said that the decision in this regard
should be made based on mutual understanding and consensus among political parties.
On October 12, 2015, amendments to the laws on five local government institutions were approved at a regular cabinet meeting with then prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair to hold elections simultaneously at all five tiers of local government with party identity and symbols.
The laws were: Local Government (Union Parishad) (amendment) Bill, 2015, Upazila Parishad (amendment) Bill, 2015, Zila Parishad (amendment) Bill, 2015, Local Government (City Corporation) (amendment) Bill, 2015.
The first local government election based on party nomination was started with the municipal polls in December 2015.
The move to hold local government elections on a partisan basis followed Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 announcement in Jatiya Sangsad on April 1, 2015 that such polls should be conducted like general elections, along party lines.
The decision came in the backdrop of the controversial 10th national elections held on January 5, 2014, which were boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies.
The boycott led to 153 uncontested seats, giving the AL-led alliance an overwhelming majority and forming a government that many observerd, both domestically and internationally, viewed as lacking broad-based legitimacy.
