Dhaka: Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Wednesday demanded the Election Commission withdraw its proposed provision barring MPO-listed teachers from contesting local government elections and cancel the contractual appointment of an additional secretary over alleged political affiliation. A six-member Jamaat delegation, led by its Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, met with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon and submitted a letter to the CEC.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the Jamaat delegation included Election Commissioners Abdur Rahmanel Masud and Tahmida Ahmad, along with EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, who were present at the meeting. In their letter, Jamaat also reiterated its earlier opinions regarding the local government election code of conduct, previously submitted to the Election Commission on June 30.
The letter stated that the EC had proposed to the Ministry of Local Government that MPO-affiliated teachers be declared ineligible to participate in local government elections. Jamaat argued that implementing this provision would deprive numerous teachers and employees across more than 30,000 MPO-affiliated educational institutions of their right to engage in local government elections, contravening constitutional principles of equality and non-discrimination as outlined in Articles 27 and 28.
Jamaat asserted that the proposed provision should be reconsidered to ensure eligible citizens retain their constitutional right to political participation. The party also called for the immediate cancellation of the recent contractual appointment of 67-year-old Md Shamsul Alam as an additional secretary to the EC Secretariat, citing allegations of his political ties to a party.
The party claimed that media reports about Alam’s alleged political affiliation have cast doubt on the Election Commission’s neutrality. Following the meeting, Mia Golam Parwar briefed reporters, stating that the delegation had presented four demands to the Commission, aiming to ensure fair, neutral, transparent, and credible local government elections.
Parwar highlighted Jamaat’s fourth demand, urging the EC to disqualify administrators appointed to local government bodies based on political considerations from contesting in local elections. Regarding Shamsul Alam’s appointment, Parwar alleged it would compromise the Election Commission’s neutrality, noting that Alam previously served on the BNP’s electoral constituency delimitation committee.
Jamaat alleged that Alam’s appointment was intended to influence upcoming local elections in favor of the ruling party. The EC responded to the delegation by stating it was unaware of Alam’s alleged political ties and that his appointment was made by the government, though the EC could have objected.
Parwar criticized ministers for inconsistent statements regarding the timing of local government elections. He also took issue with the EC’s issuance of a gazette notification declaring BNP leader Sarwar Alamgir elected from Chattogram-2 on the same day as the Supreme Court’s verdict, alleging the Commission acted under political pressure.
When questioned, Parwar stated that the issue of parliamentary membership of expelled Satkhira-4 lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam was not discussed in the meeting, as the matter is constitutional and under the jurisdiction of the Speaker and the Election Commission.
The Jamaat delegation also included Assistant Secretaries General Dr. AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, and Moazzem Hossain Helal, along with central working committee members Jasim Uddin Sarkar and Shishir Mohammad Monir.