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Elected city leaders won't quit party posts

Plan to launch legal battle

SlIAKHAWAT L1TON and Hasan Jahid Tusher
The Awami League (AL)-backed mayors- and councillors-elect prepare to pursue a legal challenge against the new electoral rules that require the winners to resign their party positions before taking the oath of office.
The Local Government (City Corporation) Ordinance-2008 and Local Government (Municipality) Ordinance-2008 were promulgated by the army-backed caretaker administration to deal with the formation and functions of the local government bodies.
But those elected in the August 4 polls, mostly belonging to AL, view those as 'unconstitutional' and undemocratic'.
The AL policymakers on Sunday directed tire mayors-elect to chal-
lenge the laws at courts, said party insiders.
Talukder Abdul Khaleque. the mayor-elect of Khulna City Corporation, said, "Since the High Court ruled that the candidates can use their political identities in the polls and scrapped the curbs in that regard, then why we should have to leave our party posts."
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, he said he is now in Dhaka consulting lawyers to file a writ petition with the High Court soon.
Also chief of Khulna city AL, Khaleque said elected mayors and councillors in Rajshahi and Barisal city corporations will join him in the legal battle against the ordinances.
Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain yesterday said the candidates seemed to have no problem with
the laws before the polls.
“And they should not change their mind now," he observed, adding that the commission however has nothing to say or do if the government does not want obedience to the provisions.
The EC in its original proposal said one would have to quit party posts to contest the local polls. But the caretaker government changed the proposal into a provision that applies after the election.
While the government and the EC say the restrictions are part of efforts to free the local government institutions from partisan politics, the major political parties dismiss those as an “attempt towards depoliticisation”.
If the mayors- and councillorselect stand down from their party posts, those who will be elected in
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the rest of the city corporations and municipalities and even upazila parishads will have to follow suit.
Leaders of different political parties believe this will create a huge leadership vacuum at the grassroots level.
Most of the 278 mayors and councillors elected in the August 4 polls hold posts in party committees at different levels.
Election Commissioner Sakhawat yesterday said the EC will publish official gazettes of the election results in a couple of days. The mayors- and councillors-elect will have to take the oath of office within 30 days since publication of the gazettes.
If anyone elected fails or declines to abide by the electoral provisions, he/she will not be allowed to take oath.
Talking to The Daily Star over phone yesterday, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, the mayor elected for Rajshahi City Corporation, said he along with at least eight of those elected councillor would challenge the electoral laws. Liton is the general secretary of Rajshahi city AL.
Shawkat Hossain Hiron, the mayor-elect of Barisal City Corporation, said he would go by the instructions from his party, whatever they might be.
"I want to continue in my party post till I'm asked to resign," he told The Daily Star over phone.
On behalf of Badar Uddin Ahmad Kamran, who has been reelected as the Sylhet city mayor while behind bars, his family members would question the legality of the ordinance at HC, said sources close to the AL leader's family.