Jamaat wants local govt elections before national polls: Taher

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami wants local government elections before the national parliamentary elections, the party's Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said today (20 June).

"The party is open to national polls taking place between December and February or even in April, as long as local government elections are held first," he said.

Taher made the remarks while addressing an event organised by the Debidwar upazila and municipality units of the party at the Debidwar Upazila Parishad auditorium in Cumilla today.

Commenting on the issue of prime minister's term limits, Taher said, "No individual should be allowed to serve as prime minister more than twice in a lifetime. Most political parties in the country agree on this proposal — except for the BNP. A final decision on this matter is expected to be reached in Sunday's upcoming meeting of the Consensus Commission."

Sharing Jamaat's new proposal regarding Article 70 of the constitution, which currently bars MPs from expressing dissenting opinions against their party, Taher added, "We are proposing an amendment so that, except in cases of constitutional amendments, no-confidence motions, and budget votes, party MPs can express differing views."

Reflecting on changes in the political environment, the Jamaat leader further said, "Before 5 August, we couldn't even hold public meetings like this. The police used to arrest our activists. But after 5 August, the police now salute our leaders when they see them."

At the beginning of the event, the party announced its candidates for both national and local elections.

Md Saiful Islam Shahid, the current secretary of Jamaat's Cumilla North unit and former vice chairman of Debidwar Upazila Parishad, was declared the candidate for the Debidwar (Cumilla-4) constituency. Lokman Hakim was nominated for the mayoral position of Debidwar Municipality, along with the announcement of candidates for reserved and general ward councilor positions.