People from all parties and affiliations in Bagerhat, who took part in the Election Commission鈥檚 hearing on constituency delimitation on Monday, demanded that the district鈥檚 four parliamentary constituencies be kept intact, strongly opposing the EC鈥檚 proposal to reduce the seats from four to three.
During the second-day hearing, people coming from various walks and levels of life in Bagerhat formed a human chain against the EC proposal in front of the EC building in the capital.
Leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and National Citizens Party voiced the demand during the hearing at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.
Representatives from different parts of Bagerhat participated in the session, where they rejected the technical committee鈥檚 proposal to eliminate one seat from the district.
The EC released a draft delimitation notification for all 300 Jatiya Sangsad constituencies on July 30.
To balance voter numbers, Gazipur district gained an additional seat, increasing its total to six, while Bagerhat鈥檚 seats were reduced from four to three.
Adjustments were also proposed in 39 other constituencies.
The commission invited objections to the draft by August 10 and received 1,760 objections covering 83 constituencies.
Following the announcement, Bagerhat units of political parties jointly began protesting the move.
Wahiduzzaman Dipu, a lawyer representing the Bagerhat-3 JS seat, told reporters after the hearing that Bagerhat had four constituencies since independence.
He said that the EC had suddenly announced that Bagerhat would no longer have four constituencies, describing the exclusion of one seat as unreasonable, unlawful, and unrealistic.
Wahiduzzaman said that the decision went against public interest and urged the commission to withdraw the draft proposal.
Bagerhat district unit BNP adviser Kazi Moniruzzaman said that the district鈥檚 poor transport and communication systems meant it required more, not fewer, constituencies.
He said that Bagerhat needed five seats rather than three to ensure proper development of the district and noted that people of all parties and backgrounds opposed the proposed reduction.
NCP joint chief organiser Mollah Rahmatullah claimed that the EC should restore Bagerhat鈥檚 four constituencies in accordance with public demand, while alleging that he had been denied the opportunity to present his case during the hearing.
Participants included, among others, Bangladesh Open University vice-chancellor Professor A B M Obaidul Islam, former Bagerhat BNP president M S Halim, and potential Jamaat-e-Islami candidate for Bagerhat-3 Abdul Wadud.
During the hearing, EC senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed said participants鈥� views had been recorded.
As most opinions were similar, not everyone was allowed to speak, he explained.
On the second day of the hearing, representatives from various constituencies 鈥� including Satkhira-3 and 4, Jessore-3 and 6, Bagerhat-1, 2, and 3, Jhalokathi-1, Barguna-1 and 2, Pirojpur-1, 2 and 3, Chattogram-3, 5, 8 and 19 , as well as Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban 鈥� also took part in the hearing.
Representatives from the three hill districts 鈥� Rangamati, Khagrachari, and Bandarban 鈥� demanded that their parliamentary representation be increased from three seats to eight.
They said that without expanding parliamentary seats, lasting peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts would remain elusive.
They also pointed out that the combined area of the three districts is 13,295 square kilometres 鈥攔oughly one-tenth of Bangladesh鈥檚 total landmass 鈥� with a population of 18.4 lakh.
Despite the vast area and population, the region has only three constituencies, which they said made it difficult for MPs to effectively represent 26 upazilas.
The second-day hearing, chaired by chief election commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin, began at about 10:00am on Monday. Other election commissioners also took part.
Hearings are scheduled to continue until 27 August.
