Jamaat prepares to contest independently banking on youth support, 12 candidates finalised

Although Jamaat-e-Islami contested the parliamentary election as part of an alliance, the party now wants to contest in the city corporation elections on its own strength. It has accordingly finalised 12 mayoral candidates for 12 city corporations. According to party leaders, priority is being given to younger candidates.

In the 13th parliamentary election held last February, Jamaat participated as part of an 11-party alliance. Alongside several other Islamist parties, National Citizen Party (NCP) was also part of the alliance. However, Jamaat leaders say they are preparing to contest local government elections, the city corporation elections in particular, on their own.

Several party sources said that although party nominations were once limited only to rukons (sworn members), that policy has now changed somewhat. In the 13th parliamentary election, nominations were given not only to party workers and supporters but also to people from other religions. The same policy may be followed in the local government elections.

This time, special importance is being given to young leadership. Jamaat wants to bring forward student leaders who led the 2024 student mass uprising in the local government elections. The plan also includes former leaders of the party’s student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Hamidur Rahman Azad, assistant secretary general of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and coordinator of the 11-party alliance, told Prothom Alo on 10 May that party candidates are being finalised in most cases for municipality, district, upazila, and union council elections. He said experience, acceptability, and popularity are being prioritised in selecting candidates. Based on these qualifications, there may be understandings with alliance partners in some areas. However, preparations are being made to contest the city corporation elections independently.

Another Jamaat assistant secretary general, Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, said that the current decision remains unchanged: parties within the 11-party alliance will field their own candidates in the city corporation elections.

For the city corporation elections, Jamaat asked its local branches to submit three-member candidate panels. After reviewing those lists, the party finalised its likely candidates. Candidates in four cities have already been instructed to begin election preparations. Their names have been announced at separate meetings of party officials.

In Narayanganj City Corporation, Jamaat is nominating Abdul Jabbar, the ameer (chief) of the party’s city unit, as its mayoral candidate. He served as central secretary of Islami Chhatra Shibir during 2012–2013 and as its president during 2014–2015.

In Gazipur City, the party’s mayoral candidate is Hafizur Rahman, an assistant professor at a university in Turkey and former secretary of the Dhaka North unit of Chhatra Shibir. Jamaat had nominated him for the Gazipur-6 constituency in the 13th parliamentary election, but he later lost his candidacy following a High Court order.

In Chattogram City, Jamaat is nominating Shamsuzzaman Helali, the organisational secretary of the party’s Chattogram city unit and a former councilor. He was the party’s candidate for the Chattogram-10 constituency in the parliamentary election but was unsuccessful. In Rangpur City, the candidate is ATM Azam Khan, the party’s city ameer.

According to several Jamaat sources, Selim Uddin, ameer of the party’s Dhaka North city unit, is being considered as a possible mayoral candidate for Dhaka North City Corporation. For the south, discussions are centering on former DUCSU vice president Abu Sadiq, also known as Shadik Kayem.
Recently, reports on social media that Shadik Kayem was being considered as a possible candidate sparked criticism. However, Jamaat leaders say that by the time of the election, his DUCSU term will have expired. They also said that once his student status ends, he will no longer remain with Islami Chhatra Shibir, meaning there would be no organisational barrier to his candidacy.

According to Jamaat sources, in Dhaka South the National Citizen Party (NCP) had proposed its party spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan as the alliance candidate. However, many of Jamaat’s top leaders objected to the proposal.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, a senior Jamaat leader said, “There are public questions regarding some of Asif Mahmud’s actions while serving as an adviser. If Jamaat supports him, the political responsibility will fall on Jamaat itself. For that reason, the possibility of an understanding in Dhaka South is low.”

A major discussion within Jamaat-e-Islami now centers on whether to contest elections as an alliance or independently. Party leaders say that in the past, even while being part of the four-party alliance with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), they achieved comparatively greater success when contesting separately. That experience is a major reason behind their current preparations to run independently.

Party leaders feel that the country’s political reality has changed and Jamaat’s public support has also grown. The party now sees itself as the main opposition force. As a result, it is more interested in contesting local elections independently.

Although it has not given up hope for alliances, the National Citizen Party (NCP) is also preparing to contest local government elections separately. On 29 March, the party announced mayoral candidates for five city corporations, including the two in Dhaka. Most recently, last Sunday, it published the names of potential candidates for 100 municipalities and upazila councils. Another 100 candidates are expected to be announced in the second phase on 20 May.

However, many leaders at the NCP’s policymaking level are still considering participating in the local government elections as part of the 11-party alliance.

Sarjis Alam, chairman of the NCP’s local government election management committee, said at a press conference last Sunday that the decision on whether the election will be contested through an alliance or independently will be made before the election. However, on a broad context, they have announced candidates independently for now.

The organisational restructuring of Jamaat-e-Islami has gained fresh impetus around the local elections. In February, the party divided the entire country into 14 organisational regions and appointed regional directors. It is now finalizing lists of potential candidates at the district and upazila levels.

Hamidur Rahman Azad, assistant secretary general of Jamaat, said that the first phase of candidate screening and selection for local government elections has almost been completed. He added that once the election schedule is announced, the second phase will involve forming various election management committees, and the third phase will begin mass outreach activities.

Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, another assistant secretary general of Jamaat, said that party candidates have already been finalized for more than 50 percent of union councils, upazilas, districts, and municipalities, and they have been instructed to begin preparations for the elections. He also noted that final decisions in some areas may take more time due to local circumstances.

After the 2024 uprising, the interim government formed at the time appointed administrators to local government institutions. Currently, many institutions are being run by government officials holding additional responsibilities. In February, after BNP came to power, party leaders were appointed as administrators in 11 city corporations.

In addition, in Chattogram City Corporation, Shahadat Hossain of BNP is serving as mayor. These political appointments by BNP have sparked criticism.

Jamaat believes that a fair election is not possible while party-affiliated administrators remain in place. Therefore, they are demanding that local government elections be held quickly and that administrators not be allowed to participate in the elections.

Hamidur Rahman Azad said that under Article 59 of the Constitution, the government cannot appoint administrators. Therefore, he argued that elections should be held quickly and the responsibility of local government should be returned to elected representatives.

The Election Commission and various levels of the government have indicated different timelines for local government elections.
On 1 March, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said that local government elections would be held throughout the year after Eid-ul-Fitr. However, even after two months, there has been no visible progress toward holding the elections.

On 5 May, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of BNP, said that local government elections could take place within the next year.

On the same day, Zahid Ur Rahman, adviser on information and broadcasting, said that local government elections would begin toward the end of this year. He added that completing all local government elections could take 10 months to a year once the process begins.

Political parties are already starting to organise their groundwork ahead of the local government elections. However, whether there will ultimately be alliances or separate contests will depend on the election schedule and the political situation.