Photo: Collected
The decision on whether the national or local elections will be held first will be made soon, Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan said today (18 February). He made the remarks after the sixth session of the third and final day of the DC Conference, held at Osmani Memorial Hall in the capital.
"The issue of not having elected representatives in local government institutions is a daily problem for us. Most of our officers are working in additional responsibilities at various local government agencies. "We constantly hear from them that they need administrators or elections," he said.
The adviser further stated, "When an officer has to handle two or three responsibilities, it becomes very difficult for one person to manage all of them at once. "Personally, I believe that local government elections should be held to bring in real elected representatives. The issue was also discussed in the last consensus meeting."
Asif Mahmud said, "A decision will be made soon. It could either be the election of representatives, or we may manage the local government institutions through appointing administrators."
Asked whether it would be better for local government elections to be held before the national elections, he said, "It would certainly be beneficial. We have to run the country, and it is evident that local government institutions can play a significant role in organising a successful national election."
Messenger/JRTarek
