EC makes no move on CHT local elections

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The Election Commission has taken no initiative to hold elections to the regional and three district councils, administered under specialised rule, of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, reports bdnews24.com.
The EC, however, is preparing to hold polls to local government bodies in the rest of the country despite political parties saying that it is mandated to stage only parliamentary polls.
Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda told the agency Friday morning that according to the CHT peace treaty and laws related to it, elections to those areas were to be held in line with a voter list prepared separately for the permanent residents of those areas.
"But the voter list currently being prepared with photographs in the CHT is for the national elections," he added.
The CEC, in reply to a question, said that no decision had been taken on whether a separate voter list for permanent residents of the regional and council areas would be made once voter lists for the national election was prepared.
An official of the CHT Regional Council told bdnews24.com that council chairman Jyotirindra Bodhi-priyo Larma alias Shantu Larma had met CHT affairs adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury Tuesday.
"Shantu Larma requested the adviser to speed up the CHT treaty implementation process," said the official, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to brief the media.
In 1989, three separate district councils, each with five-year tenures, were established for Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban.
Elections to these councils, however, have not been held in the 18 years since their formation.