Faruque Ahmed
The city corporation election is over but the government has now started new political manoeuvring to deny administering early oaths to the four newly elected mayors and install them in the respective city houses. This is because; they belong to the opposition camp.
The announcement to four city corporation elections at first came from the Election Commission (EC) as a surprise without prior consultation with the major opposition. Analysts believe, the move was silently prompted by the government to bring pressure on BNP-led major opposition to leave street agitation for caretaker government and instead enter into an electioneering process.
The move also aimed at luring the opposition to take part in election under the present government, which they will boycott— BNP and its allies will not take part in any elections under the present political government.
The government trap was that, if the opposition parties agree they will move closer to the government politics to accept the next parliamentary election to be held under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. If they do not agree to join the city corporation polls, the government-backed candidates will sweep to victory without major contest.
But the opposition took a sudden U- turn in its election politics and indirectly fielded candidates to all four city corporations only to see that all the Awami League-backed mayoral candidates have lost to them with huge margin.
So a new political manoeuvring is now in the making. News reports said quoting official sources that the publication of gazette and giving oath to the new mayors will have to wait up to September in case of three city corporations and to October for another when their five-year tenure will be complete. “We can’t break the law,” the government leaders are reported to have said.
Past mayors no more in office
But question has arisen: Then why the government held the election so early before the expiry of the existing term of city mayors and their administration. Moreover, since the incumbent mayors have tendered resignation before entering into new electoral race, they are also no more in office. Who will then run the city corporations, this is a big question.
The legal point is that, all posts fell vacant with the start of the election process, it is understood that new leadership is being elected to replace the existing ones. So the question for waiting is not justified, experts said.
But another opinion is that although the incumbent mayors have resigned to contest polls, sitting councillors have not resigned. So why they should resign now before their full term is expired.
This is a complex situation, said a lawyer pointing to the fact that if the government is going to issue the gazette and give oath to new mayors and councillors, who also largely belong to the opposition camp, before the expiry of the term of the existing councillors, someone may go to court and seek an injunction. It may further complicate the situation.
Mismatch
The whole mismatch is a government plan. The government may have quickly moved to issue the new gazette and give oath to newly elected majors to transfer power to them if the winning candidates were government-backed candidates.
But since a boomerang has taken place and all the ruling party-backed candidates have lost to the opposition, all such legal issues may be at work to deny easy victory to the opposition.
This situation may also partly explain how the next general election, to be held three months before the expiry of the Parliament under the amended constitution, could be a mismatch, and how the incumbent Parliament may deny the installation of a new Parliament if voters elect the opposition to form the next government.
This is a test case for both the government and the opposition. The government is now bragging its defeat in the mayoral elections saying, it showed how a free and fair election is possible under the ruling party. It also rejects the notion of the opposition that the next election under the Awami League government cannot be free and fair.
But if it is so, why the government is hesitant now to issue the gazette, give oath to the opposition-backed mayors and taking steps to hand over power to them as quickly as possible as stipulated under existing laws.
The government’s handling of the situation in post-mayoral election time may once again expose the double standard and the game plan which it is putting in place to win the next parliamentary election, analysts say.
Source: Weekly Holiday