Elections loom, yet administrators being installed in Union Parishads

The government is planning to start holding Union Parishad (UP) elections within this year, and the election commission (EC) is preparing accordingly, with the schedule likely to be announced in September. However, the government is currently appointing administrators to the Union Parishads.

According to Ministry of Local Government sources, administrators have been appointed to at least 38 Union Parishads over the past two months. Among these, 31 are old unions and seven are newly formed.

In some places, government officials have been appointed as administrators, while in others, leaders of the ruling BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) have been placed in these posts. Party leaders have also been appointed as Union Parishad members.

Sources in the Ministry of Local Government indicated that the process of appointing administrators to more Union Parishads is currently underway.

The Ministry of Local Government reasons that the government made this decision to keep public services running smoothly. There is no legal bar to appointing administrators under the law.

State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam told newspersons at the Secretariat on 17 July that elections to five tiers of local government will be held within this year.

When asked by Prothom Alo why administrators were being appointed under such circumstances, he said the appointments have no relation to the elections and the Union Parishad elections will indeed be held within this year.

When asked why party affiliates are being appointed as administrators to Union Parishads, the state minister said the list of administrators is sent to the ministry from the deputy commissioner's office. It only contains individual names, so there is no opportunity to know who is a government official or a political party leader.

The number of Union Parishads in the country is 4,588. According to data from the Ministry of Local Government, as of 30 July, the number of election-eligible unions was 311. Elections cannot be held in 4,237 unions as their tenures have not expired, and lawsuits are ongoing in 40.

Following the fall of the Awami League government in the July mass uprising on 5 August 2024, many Union Parishad chairmen went into hiding. During the tenure of the interim government, administrators were appointed from among government officials in many places. However, no party affiliates were appointed at that time.

The BNP government has now appointed party affiliates as administrators in several Union Parishads. Sources say local BNP leaders are trying to place party affiliates as administrators in more unions.

Earlier in July, the government made one-year contractual appointments of BNP leaders to top posts in 11 government institutions. BNP leaders have also been appointed as administrators in 11 city corporations, 63 district councils and 8 urban development authorities.

According to sources in the Ministry of Local Government, Faruque Hossain Khokon was given the responsibility of administrator in Mokamia Union of Betagi upazila in Barguna last month. He is the joint convener of Betagi Upazila BNP.

In the Baushia Union Parishad of Gazaria upazila in Munshiganj, Ebadul Haque was appointed as the new administrator. He was the former joint secretary of the upazila Jubo Dal and the member for Ward No. 3 of Baushia Union, where he had previously served as a member.

In Rupganj Union Parishad of Narayanganj, BNP leader Md. Noor Nabi Bhuiyan was appointed as administrator on 19 July. Concurrently, the Local Government Division appointed 12 BNP leaders and activists of various levels as members of the council.

Fazlur Rahman Bhuiyan was appointed as the administrator of Barishal Union Parishad in Akhaura upazila of Brahmanbaria. He is a member of the Brahmanbaria district unit BNP.

Comprising both newly formed and old unions, out of the 38 Union Parishads where administrators were appointed in the past two months, 19 are in Barishal district, representing the highest number.

Sources said that after the tenures of the Union Parishads in Bakerganj, Muladi, and Wazirpur upazilas of Barishal ended, multiple meetings were held regarding appointing BNP leaders as administrators. However, no consensus was reached on who would be selected.

Abul Hossain Khan, Member of Parliament for the Barishal-6 Bakerganj constituency, told Prothom Alo that many leaders want to become Union Parishad administrators.

"If we give it to one, another gets unhappy, which is why no one was appointed. To avoid controversy, administrators are being appointed from among government officials," he said.

The Local Government (Union Parishad) Act states that an administrator will be appointed for a single term of 120 days, though the government can extend the term. If the government wishes, it can run the Union Parishads through administrators without holding elections.

Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN) told Prothom Alo that if elections are held soon, there is no need to appoint administrators for a short period.

"It is necessary to stop appointing party affiliates to government posts. The government should hold elections as soon as possible. If administrators are appointed instead of holding elections, many may begin to suspect that elections might not be held in all unions," he said.