Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday stressed the need for holding the local government elections on a party basis and emphasised on amendment to the concerned laws.
“It is necessary to field candidates and stage election on a party basis in every tier of the local government polls,” she said.
The Prime minister was replying to a question put by treasury bench member Shamsul Haque Chowdhury during her question-answer session in the House.Sheikh Hasina said there is no scope for nominating candidates on party basis in the local government polls as the polls are held in the local government bodies on non-partisan basis.
“There is a matter of accountability. If there remains a party control over it, the activities of an elected representative can be properly monitored,” she said.
The Prime Minister said there is no scope for taking action against any elected representative on party basis, as he or she is not nominated by the party itself. “But if he or she commits any wrong, the concerned party earns a bad name,” she said.
“So, the election to the local government bodies should be held on party basis. Then accountability and transparency in this regard could be ensured,” she said.
In this connection, the Leader of the House said referred to the holding of local government polls in neighbouring India and England on party basis.
Referring to the coming city corporation polls in Dhaka and Chittagong, the PM said the ministers are conducting their activities by maintaining the Election Commission laws.
“Everybody should be careful so that the Election Commission laws and code of conduct are not flouted,” she said.
Replying to another question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam, the Prime Minister said she cannot understand what BNP wants in the name of creating “level-playing field”.
“The BNP-Jamaat don’t think about the people of the country when they burn the people to death, and torch buses, trucks and launches and uproot railway fishplates,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the BNP-Jamaat are still in a fix whether to join the election race in Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations.
Assuring the government’s non-interference in the city corporation polls, the Prime Minister said there is an equal scope for those who have become candidates in the city corporation polls.
“The Election Commission will surely hold elections in a free, fair and acceptable manner. But it is very difficult to guess what kind of wrong tuning of BNP is ringing in and around the real tune,” she said. – BSS
