Local govt elections must be held under caretaker govt: Jamaat nayeb-e-ameer

Local government elections should be held under a caretaker government, said Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, the nayeb-e-ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami today (19 June).

Speaking on the fourth day of the second phase of discussions with the National Consensus Commission, he said, "We support the idea of an extended electoral college. Some are in favour of including union parishads as voters, while others prefer district councils. We are flexible on this matter."

The commission is currently holding dialogues with political parties to explore potential political reforms. Today's agenda was meant to include discussions on the fundamental principles of the state and the tenure of the prime minister.

Talking to reporters during lunch break about today's session, Mojibur Rahman Monju, chairman of Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party), said, "In the current setup, the president holds only a symbolic role. There is now a growing demand for a balance of power between the president and the prime minister."

He added, "Although all political parties agree on the need to change the existing political framework, there are differing views on what the new system should look like."

Referring to today's session held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, Monju said, "We couldn't proceed with today's agenda yet. Discussions are still revolving around the presidential election and powers, as they did yesterday."

"One key change we're hoping for is a shift from the traditional show-of-hands voting method to a secret ballot for electing the president. Discussions are still ongoing about the extent of presidential powers," he added.

"We're optimistic that we can reach a consensus on the process of electing the president," he said.

Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon, also noted that most parties support changing the current method of electing the president.

"There is a proposal to form an electoral college for this purpose. Our position is that the electoral college could include representatives from district and city corporations, as well as both lower and upper chambers of parliament, with the voting conducted by secret ballot," he said.

Saiful Haque, general secretary of the Revolutionary Workers Party, said the process of electing the president is inherently tied to the scope of presidential authority.

"There must be a balance of power between the president and the prime minister. For that, the president's powers need to be expanded," he said.

Nurul Haque Nur, president of Gono Adhikar Parishad, expressed support for an electoral college consisting of 576 members.

"This would include 500 members from a bicameral parliament and 76 representatives from districts and city corporations," he said.

"We are open to adjusting our position in the interest of greater national consensus," he added.

Today's discussion began at 11:40am with the unfinished topic of the presidential election from yesterday.

Previously, 33 political parties participated in the first round of discussions held on 3 June. On the second day, 17 June, 29 parties participated, and the third day of talks took place on 18 June.

According to sources, following the discussions, the commission Vice Chairman ProfAli Riaz will brief the media, after which representatives of the participating political parties will also address the press.