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City Corporation Polls

EPR to be relaxed tomorrow to allow rallies, campaigns

Shakhawat Liton
The caretaker government is going to relax the Emergency Powers Rules (EPR) tomorrow allowing rallies and processions for election campaigns in city corporations and municipalities where polls will be held in phases under the state of emergency.
LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal yesterday said the government is now mulling which sections of the EPR should be relaxed and will declare it on the day the Election Commission (EC) announces the schedules for polls to four city corporations and nine municipalities.
The polls schedules are due to be announced tomorrow as per an EC decision earlier.
Directed by government policymakers, senior officials of the
ministries of Home Affairs and LGRD are finalising the procedure to relax the EPR in consultation with the EC Secretariat, highly placed sources said.
"Relaxation of the EPR will remain in force from the day of announcement of polls schedule for city corporations and municipalities till publication of the polls results In official gazette,” one source said quoting the draft notification on relaxing the EPR.
"But the polls campaigns must be carried out in compliance with the election rules and code of conduct for the polls," he said.
The draft notification provides for relaxation of certain stringent provisions of the EPR that banned political rallies or meetings since declaration of the state of emergency on January 11, 2007, the
The home ministry will issue the notification in exercise of the authority given on it in September last year when the government first relaxed the EPR allowing indoor politics only in the capital to facilitate holding of the EC-initiated electoral reform talks.
Senior officials at the EC Secretariat said stringent provisions in the new election rules and code of conduct for polls to local government bodies are enough to ensure law and order when the EPR is relaxed in the areas where polls will take place.
The EC announces tomorrow schedules for polls in the city corporations of Rajshai, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet, and nine municipalities by the end of July or early in Au gust.
The nine municipalities are Manikganj Sadar, Chuadanga Sadar, Shariatpur Sadar, Naohata in Rajshahi, Dupchanchiya in Bogra, Sripur in Gazipur, Fulbaria in Mymensingh, Golapganj in Sylhet and Sitakunda in Chittagong.
The EC plans to hold the long over due polls to Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and some other municipalities in September.
It also plans to hold polls to upazila parishads in October.
And the parliamentary polls will be held in the third week of December.
Major political parties have been opposing the EC plan for holding local government polls before the parliamentary elections. STRINGENT RULES ON POLLS CAMPAIGNS
The election rules and code of conduct promulgated by the EC on Tuesday slapped strict restrictions on polis campaigns. Rallies and processions will be allowed only within a specified period despite relaxation of the EPR.
Candidates might have three weeks time for polls campaigns after finalisation of their candidature, EC Secretariat sources said referring to the draft schedules for polls.
No intending contestants can bring out procession or stage showdowns during filing of nominations, according to the new rules.
And candidates will have to seek permission from law enforcement agencies at least 24 hours before rallies and processions.
The new rules also prohibit indiscriminate pasting of posters and scrawlingofgraffiti on walls.
Under the new rules, the EC can cancel candidature for violation of the code of conduct and other irregularities during the polls.
The rules also empower personnel of the defence forces and police on election duty to arrest anybody without warrant for violating those.