Local govt election: Jamaat seeks retaining MPO-listed teachers’ eligibility, to raise issue with EC
Jamaat-e-Islami will meet the election commission (EC) today, Wednesday, to present several demands, including retaining the eligibility of teachers at MPO-listed educational institutions to contest local government elections.
The party argues that, under the existing law, MPO-listed teachers may resign from their jobs and contest local government elections. However, it believes that the recommendation to abolish this provision could undermine citizens’ constitutional political rights.
According to Jamaat sources, a party delegation will meet the EC at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Wednesday. Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar will lead the delegation.
The other members will include Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad, Central Secretary for Publicity and Media Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, Central Executive Council member Jasim Uddin Sarkar, and Shishir Mohammad Monir.
Party sources said the delegation will also demand the cancellation of the contractual appointment of Md Shamsul Alam as additional secretary to the Election Commission Secretariat, alongside calling for the retention of MPO-listed teachers’ right to participate in local government elections.
Speaking to Prothom Alo on Tuesday night, Jamaat’s Central Secretary for Publicity and Media, Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, said the party would discuss the EC’s proposal to withdraw MPO-listed teachers’ eligibility to contest local government elections.
He added that Jamaat would also present its position on several other issues, including the appointment of Shamsul Alam as additional secretary to the EC Secretariat.
Jamaat has strongly opposed the EC’s recent recommendation regarding the participation of MPO-listed teachers in local government elections. The party’s leaders believe the recommendation stems from an “ulterior motive”.
In a recent interview with Prothom Alo, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad said, “MPO-listed teachers can resign from their jobs and contest local government elections. But the proposal put forward by the EC may have the government’s backing. If such a decision is implemented, it could call the EC’s credibility into question.”
At a press conference on Tuesday, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar also addressed the EC’s proposal concerning MPO-listed teachers’ participation in local government elections.
He told journalists, “Any measure that conflicts with citizens’ constitutional rights would be unlawful. In that case, there would be scope for legal action. Jamaat is making the necessary preparations and will formally announce its position at the appropriate time.”
Jamaat has also objected to the one-year contractual appointment of Shamsul Alam as additional secretary to the Election Commission Secretariat.
The party alleges that the EC appointed a “known partisan individual” to the post after his retirement. It claims that the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) intends to make the EC subservient through this appointment. Consequently, Jamaat will ask the Commission to cancel the appointment.
At its meeting on 21 July, the election commission finalised a recommendation to remove the provision allowing MPO-listed teachers to contest local government elections.
During the same meeting, it also approved several other recommendations, including creating a legal provision to deploy the military during local government elections, as is permitted in parliamentary elections.
The election commission will now forward these recommendations to the relevant ministry. The government will decide whether to accept them.
If the government approves the recommendations, it will need to initiate amendments to the relevant laws. In that event, the Cabinet must approve the proposed amendments before Parliament can pass the necessary legislation.