Holding local govt polls under interim govt unrealistic: BNP's Salahuddin

Holding local government elections under an interim government is an unrealistic proposal, BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed said today (2 July).

Speaking to the media following a meeting of the National Consensus Commission, he said, "The tenures of local government bodies, such as union and upazila parishads, municipalities, and city corporations, end at different times. 

"To conduct all these elections under an interim government, it would have to remain in power for five years. These kinds of proposals are unrealistic."

Regarding today's discussions on delimiting electoral constituencies, Salauddin said, "Article 119, sub-section 1, already mentions delimitation. I suggested that a special expert committee be constituted to carry out constituency delimitation within a specific timeframe following a census. Everyone agreed, and we made good progress today." 

Reflecting on the broader reform discussions, he said, "We've reached consensus on many issues. We proposed the idea that the prime minister's tenure should be limited to a fixed number of years during their lifetime. We've actively contributed to this. Our suggestions are aimed at ensuring a balanced government system that prevents the rise of fascism." 

The BNP leader further said, "Regarding the appointment of the president and chief justice, we suggested choosing from among Appellate Division judges and proposed the inclusion of a shortlist. Everyone but one party agreed. We've provided specific opinions on 134 proposals of the Constitutional Reform Commission and reached agreement on many of them."

Responding to criticism, he stated, "We are offering the highest level of cooperation. We don't want to be blamed for obstructing the consensus process. We made written proposals to all six major reform commissions, and except for one legal issue in the ACC Reform Commission, we gave feedback on all matters." 

On the issue of caretaker government, Salauddin said, "Leaving the selection of the chief adviser solely to the judiciary is not acceptable. Most parties agree. While we want the tenure to remain 90 days, there could be a special provision allowing a 30-day extension in exceptional cases."

He added that there is room for further discussion on whether a better mechanism than involving the judiciary exists for appointing the chief adviser. "Progress has been made on the caretaker government issue, especially through the partial repeal of the 15th Amendment. Justice Khairul Haque also suggested exploring alternatives to judicial oversight in the caretaker system. We now need to finalise the model based on national consensus," he said.

Salauddin noted that they have proposed several provisions for forming a caretaker government without involving the judiciary.