Incumbent mayors and councillors cannot contest in the upcoming city corporation elections without resigning their respective posts, the Election Commission has announced. The EC announced schedules for four city corporation elections – Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal – on April 29.
“Current mayors and councillors in these four city corporations will have to resign for contesting the upcoming city corporation,’’ said an EC circular released yesterday.
The EC has sent the circular to the returning officers and concerned authorities, a senior EC official told Dhaka Tribune. The circular contains details on the qualifications and disqualifications of candidates for the upcoming city polls, the official says.
The circular stated that those who hold posts of mayors and councillors in the respective city corporations are not allowed to participate for the upcoming city polls. If any incumbent mayor and councillor wants to contest in the polls, s/he must resign from the post, it said.
The circular also mentioned that a candidate would be disqualified if s/he had been sentenced to two year imprisonment and five years had not passed after the completion of the sentence.
