The long awaited polls for the bifurcated Dhaka City Corporation are likely to take place early next year, following fresh directives from the prime minister to the authorities concerned.
During the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reportedly asked authorities to arrange elections by this winter for the Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation – polls that were originally slated for May 24, 2012.
Two ministers and a state minister – who were present at yesterday’s meeting – confirmed the issue to the Dhaka Tribune.
Meeting sources added that the premier also rejected a proposed amendment to the local government (city corporation) act, which moved to extend the tenure of both city administrators to one year from the existing six months.
A ruling party minister quoted Hasina as saying: “We are not concerned about the result [of the election]; please arrange elections for two city corporations immediately.”
After the amendment to the bill was placed before the cabinet, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader reportedly objected to it, claiming that extending the city administrators’ tenure would send a wrong signal to the people.
Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud also voiced his support to Obaidul’s remarks and said the government should not approve the amendment.
Following the discussion, the prime minister recommended that instead of amending the act, the government should go for arranging the elections.
Without commenting on the election issue, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the proposed amendment has been sent back to the LGRD Ministry following the cabinet decision.
“The cabinet thinks amending the bill needs more consultation,” Musharraf said during his official press briefing after the meeting.
Meanwhile, Local Government Division Secretary Monzur Hossain, who was also present in the cabinet meeting, said: “It [the proposed amendment] has a very little chance to go back to the cabinet again.”
Refusing to comment on the schedule for the city corporation elections, Monzur said: “Election for the local administration is the Election Commission’s mandate and if they want our assistance we can provide it to them.”
Sources said the Election Commission had planned to announce a poll schedule for the split DCC after Ramadan this year, but eventually scrapped the plan. EC sources also told the Dhaka Tribune that there were still disputes surrounding the delimitation of wards 55, 56 and 57.
Before the tenth national election, the commission had sent letters to the LGRD Ministry to carry out the delimitation of the wards on an emergency basis; but those calls reportedly were in vain.
Following the bifurcation of the Dhaka City Corporation on November 30, 2011, fresh elections were originally slated for May 24, 2012, but the High Court issued a three-month stay order as there were complexities regarding area delimitation and preparation of the voter list.
The stay order was finally lifted by the court on May 13 last year, paving way for the election.
The last city corporation election in April 2002 was won by BNP leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka – who went on to serve as mayor until the splitting of the corporation in 2011. Awami League’s Mohammad Hanif was elected the first mayor of the city in the first DCC poll in 1994.