UP elections to be held in January: Fakhrul

Union Parishad elections will be completed across the country in January next year, said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives, on Wednesday.

The minister urged all the potential candidates to take adequate preparations for the elections as party affiliations and other influence factors will play little-to-no role in the ballots.

The vote casting environment will be absolutely neutral and candidates will have to capitalise solely on public support to win, he added.

Fakhrul was speaking at an event organised by the “Bangladesh Union Parishad Chairman-Member Association” at Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh in Kakrail, Dhaka.

The event focused on the role of UP chairmen in strengthening the local government and helping in rebuilding the country, said a press release issued by the local government ministry.

Building a strong state and a strong democracy is impossible without a strong local government, Fakhrul continued.

“In developed countries, local governments administer much of the public administration, healthcare, local justice system, and public services,” he said, adding that Bangladesh must also build such a structure.

Since independence, Bangladesh has failed to build a strong local government system as envisioned, but now an opportunity has come to realise the dream, he noted.

He said union parishad chairmen and members are the people's closest elected representatives at the grassroots and have the best understanding of their problems, needs and potential.

The local government minister said the country's democratic institutions had been weakened for a long time. Now, an opportunity has emerged to institutionalise democracy, and truly empower local governments.

He alleged that, in the past, elected public representatives had been removed on various pretexts. An elected representative should not be dismissed arbitrarily without proof, he said, adding that action should be taken only if a violation of the law or a criminal offence is proven. He also said the government is taking steps to reform the relevant laws.

Mirza Fakhrul further said he would discuss with the prime minister raising the allowances of union parishad chairmen and members to a respectable level. He also assured that the government would take positive steps to establish a trust and a welfare fund for elected local government officials.

He said the BNP government remains committed to further strengthening the local government system.