The people dreamt of a Bangladesh in which democracy would flourish unabated, where their participation through elected representatives at all levels of the administration would be ensured. Their expectations have yet to be fulfilled.
The history of local governments in what is now Bangladesh, has not been very pleasant since the Pakistan days. They have seen many ups and downs. The three-tier democratic local government system, introduced during the British rule, was suspended by the military dictator Ayub Khan. It was reintroduced as a four-tier system through the Basic Democracies Order 1959, which provided for the appointment of bureaucrats as chairmen at the district level and the sub-division level local government bodies in place of elected chairmen. This resulted in the loss of the democratic nature of these two very important local government bodies.
In the early years of independent Bangladesh, the AL government dissolved all existing local government bodies through the President’s Order Number 7 of 1972, and appointed administrators to take over their functions. The government appointed certain committees for performing the functions of these defunct bodies. Major changes in the constitution were made and the provisions relating to the local bodies were scrapped. As a result, the local government system suffered a temporary setback.
After the changeover of August 15, 1975, the local government system found a new hope. In 1976, the Local Government Ordinance (LGO) issued by the government of General Ziaur Rahman made provisions for the formation of three types of rural local government – Union Parishad (UP), Thana Parishad (TP), and Zila Parishad (ZP). The TPs were created during the period of Ayub Khan, under the title of Thana Council. As per the above LGO, a UP had both elected and nominated members and was headed by an elected chairman.
General HM Ershad upgraded thanas to upazilas. The upazilas (UZPs), headed by directly-elected chairmen, were abolished by the BNP government soon after it came to power in 1991. The UZPs, reintroduced by the immediate past AL-led, grand alliance government, have lost their independence to the MP advisers who have the last say in running the affairs of the UZPs.
The ZP system revived by Ziaur Rahman was replaced by Ershad through the Zila Parishad Act 1988. It provided for appointment of a chairman in each ZP by the government whilst MPs, UZP, and Paurashabha chairmen of the concerned district were to act as members. The ZP system, which ceased to exist with the fall of the Ershad government, was revived by the immediate past AL-led, grand alliance government.
Although the AL government-enacted Zila Parishad Act 2000 provides for election of chairmen and members of the ZPs, the AL supporters were appointed administrators in the ZPs in December 2011. Elections in two Dhaka City Corporations (DCCs) have become uncertain. They are being run by the bureaucrats for the last few years.
The above narrative is given to show that the constitutional provision for running the local government bodies is not being followed in some cases. Article 59 (1) of the constitution says that the local government in every administrative unit of the republic shall be entrusted to bodies composed of persons elected in accordance with the law. The ZP, the most important tier in the rural local government structure, had no election in the past four decades of our independence.
While appointing the administrators in December 2011, it was stated by the government that election to the ZPs would be held within a period of six months. Even after two and a half years, election in the ZPs remains uncertain. The Election Commission has said that the government has not yet made rule under the Zila Parishad Act 2000, so they cannot hold election in the ZPs in the absence of rule.
A recent study by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) says that all developmental activities in a district are coordinated by the deputy commissioner of the concerned district. The district administrator has practically no role in them. The role of the administrator in the Zila Parishad Act 2000 is not clear on this point. The TIB study also says that, in light of the fact the administrators belong to the ruling AL, and their offices have virtually become political party offices.
The TIB study has recommended that, according to the constitution and the Zila Parishad Act 2000, the ZPs should be run by the elected persons, so the suggestion made in the meeting held by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 7 at the secretariat for running the ZPs through the elected representatives, deserves full consideration.
For more than two years, the two DCCs have been run by government-appointed administrators who are bureaucrats. Although there is reportedly no legal bar, the government is in no mood to hold elections for the two DCCs. Recent media reports suggest that the government is thinking of appointing individuals other than bureaucrats as administrators. Actually, the election results of the five city corporations held prior to the tenth national election are haunting the government. The government may not go for elections to the two DCCs unless it is sure of victory.
An elected parliament at the national level alone does not speak for full-fledged democracy at work in the country. Actually, elected local government bodies act as pillars for establishing democracy at a grassroots level. This calls for immediate elections to the zila parishads and the two DCCs. The government should also go for amending the Upazila Parishad Act 2009 to delete the provision for appointing the MPs as advisors to the UZPs. Narrow party interest must not prevail upon greater national interest.
