City polls within three months of tenure expiry, bill approved

Election to any city corporation will have to be held within three months instead of the existing six months before the expiry of its tenure, according to the draft of the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Bill, 2020, reports UNB.

The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Monday approved in principle the draft law reducing the timeframe for the arrangement of city elections.

Sheikh Hasina joined the virtual meeting through a videoconference from her official residence Ganobhaban while other cabinet members joined it from the Secretariat.

"Six months or 180 days is practically a long time… Even after taking oath, they (elected representatives) have to wait for taking over charges. So, the bill was placed bringing a change to it. Now, the election will have to be held within three months (90 days)," said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam at a press briefing after the meeting.

As per the draft law, he said, the charges will be handed over to the newly-elected representatives within 15 working days after they take oath. "They (newly-elected representatives) will have to sit in the maiden meeting within 15 days after they take oath and thus the former corporation will be abolished with the arrangement of the meeting," he said.