Relatives of MPs dominated UZ polls

Wealthy individuals and businessmen with close ties to members of parliament govern the majority of upazila parishads across the country, said speakers at a press conference today.

This raises concerns about huge power being concentrated in the hands of a few people, they added.

Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik held the event at Jatiya Press Club, presenting an analysis of the sixth upazila parishad election.

They examined data obtained from 470 elected upazila chairmen. It showed 360 (76.6 percent) are businessmen, followed by 48 agriculturists, 19 lawyers, and 15 teachers.

Additionally, 42 of these chairmen have an annual income exceeding Tk 1 crore.

Shujan highlighted that lower-income candidates had a significantly lower chance of winning, while higher-income candidates had double the success rate.

The report also pointed out that the elections were neither participatory nor competitive, with voter apathy being a major issue.

The results might lead to internal conflicts within the Awami League, as around 90 percent of the winning chairmen are from the ruling party.

The report said 114 of the elected chairman currently face cases, 182 had cases in the past, and 75 have both past and current cases.

Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar expressed concerns about the large amounts of money spent illegally in elections.

Dr Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, said the AL's strategy to not nominate any candidate was somewhat successful, resulting in a 36 percent voter turnout on average.

Dilip Kumar Sarker, central coordinator of Shujan, said there is a lack of public confidence in the electoral system.

He said if the trust is not restored, the future of democracy is bleak.