Partisan municipal polls challenged

A Supreme Court lawyer today challenged the legality of political parties’ participation in tomorrow’s municipality elections, terming it contradictory to the constitution.

Eunus Ali Akond also challenged the legality of Local Government (pourasabha) Amendment Act-2015 and its rules which allowed the political parties to run in the local government elections.

However, he said, the constitution provisions do not permit political parties to run activities in the local government polls.

The lawyer submitted the petition with the High Court seeking stay on publishing results of the municipal elections to be held tomorrow.

In the petition, Eunus Ali Akond said that there is definition of political party in article 152(1) of the constitution that allowed the political parties to move activities only for national elections.

But the political parties are running activities for the local government elections violating the articles of the constitution, the petition said.

According to the rules, an independent candidate for the local government elections has to submit the nomination papers to the Election Commission including signatures of 100 voters. But any political candidates do not need to include the signatures of the voters in the nominations papers.

The High Court may hear the petition tomorrow, Akond told The Daily Star.