Plan on simultaneous national, UZ polls was abandoned: adviser

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The government and the election authorities decided against holding parliamentary and Upazila elections at the same time figuring out that it would create a space crisis for the polling agents, an adviser says, reports bdnews24.com.
Political parties, however, should not do anything that might give the people the impression that they do not want Upazila elections.
Local Government Engineering Department Adviser Anwarul Iqbal said this while speaking to the journalists after a meeting of the national standing committee on national urban primary health care project at Local Government Division conference room in the city Tuesday.
"At first I had proposed that national and Upazila elections be held simultaneously. But later on scrutiny, problems were detected. There would be space constraints facing the polling agents in the polling centres if the two elections were held on the same day."
On decisions of the meeting, he said reaching urban health care at all city corporations and municipalities in future are being contemplated.
He said the mayors have been advised to identify the problems in their areas through discussion with local NGOs and citizens and that the local government ministry would act on their proposals.
Later the adviser met Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka and four newly elected mayors. They exchanged views on different matters.
Health secretary AMM Nasir Uddin, local government secretary Sheikh Khurshid Alam, Sylhet mayor Badruddin Ahmed Kamran, Khulna mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque, Rajshahi mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, Barisal mayor Shawkat Hossain Hiron, mayors of five municipalities and representatives of different ministries and agencies were present at the meeting.