At least 66 percent of the people favour local government elections before the next national polls under the interim government, a Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics study has found.

The study also found 70 percent of the people support non-partisan local government elections, compared to 28 percent who prefer local elections to be partisan.

The state statistics agency conducted the National Public Opinion Survey on Electoral Reforms at the request of the Electoral Reform Commission.

Conducted from December 20–22, the survey on 46,080 households picked one adult (18 or older) respondent per household. Published on Friday, the study is available on the reform commission's website.

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Badiul Alam Majumdar, chief of the commission, said the survey was meant to gauge people's opinions about elections and related issues.

He said the commission made its recommendations for the Election Commission based on these opinions, besides the members' experience.

The report has come when major political parties, including the BNP and its allies, have said they are against holding local government polls before the national election.

BNP Standing Committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said the interim government was supposed to hold a national election, but it was making "noise" about local polls.

As far as he knows, Tuku said, local government elections have never been held under an interim government except during the Ayub Khan regime before independence.

Questioning the intention behind bringing up the local election issue at this time, Tuku accused the government of focusing on reforms instead of election, law and order, and rising prices of daily necessities, which he said was worsening public sufferings.

On January 8, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus said the interim government is simultaneously preparing for national and local body elections.

The Jatiya Nagorik Committee, however, is in favour of holding the local government elections before the parliamentary polls, its central executive member Alauddin Mohammad said at a press briefing on January 11.

STUDY AT A GLANCE

In the study, about 74 percent of the respondents said they believe there is a risk of autocracy's resurgence if politics continues to be driven by business interests instead of public welfare.

Regarding the so-called nomination business, 48 percent of the respondents believe that the political parties and their candidates should stop this practice, while 44 percent think the responsibility of nominating candidates should lie with the public.

The survey showed that 68 percent of the citizens prefer a non-partisan president, while around 29 percent were in favour. About 83 percent of the people favour direct voting to elect the president while 13 percent believe MPs should elect the president.

About 47 percent of the respondents favour appointing the Election Commission's own officials as returning officers, while 44 percent said deputy commissioners can hold the posts.

Nearly four out of every five people or 78 percent of the people surveyed during the study said re-election should be held if voter turnout is less than half the constituents.

The same number of respondents favour a new election with a new set of candidates, if the "No" vote option wins.

About 74 percent are in favour of increasing the number of seats for women in parliament and prefer a direct election for these seats.

About 91 percent support punishment of election commissioners if they fail to perform constitutional duties properly. And 79 percent of the people believe executive should take the EC's permission before taking any action that can influence elections.

Around 89 percent favour scrutiny of candidates' affidavits.

More than 63 percent are against political parties having separate student wings.

Also, 50 percent are opposed to political parties having branches abroad while 42 percent are in favour. There is also overwhelming support, 87 percent, for introducing electronic voting on a trial basis for expatriates.