Remove barriers to mayoral elections

We are disappointed by the stay order on the mayoral by-polls necessitated by the untimely death of Mayor Annis. There is much work that needs to be done in Dhaka City, and we wonder if the Court needs three months to adjudicate a case like this.

Unfortunately, with his sudden death, many of the reforms initiated by Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor have practically come to a halt. And that is not surprising. We cannot expect a panel mayor, lacking popular mandate to be as effective as an elected mayor, as he is merely holding the fort as an interim arrangement.

The crux of the problem is the inclusion of the new wards. The situation has come to such a pass because neither the Election Commission nor the LGRD took timely corrective measures to address the legal complications that were inevitable, and which they were well aware of. The EC must be held responsible for declining the election schedule without addressing the legal issues that were to inevitably arise. Earlier experiences should have alerted them to it. The question is why the EC went ahead, knowing the inevitable legal tangle that would follow. All in all, a mess, which should have been resolved before declaring the election, but wasn't.

However, the ball is in the government's court and only it can remove the immediate impediment to holding the polls as per schedule. And that is by delisting the new 18 wards and councils. If that is not done, DNCC would remain without an elected mayor for an uncertain period of time. That would be an unacceptable situation.