Islami Andolan Bangladesh has demanded the repeal of four ordinances issued during the interim government period that gave the executive branch absolute authority to remove local government representatives, alleging that decisions on ordinances are being made for partisan rather than national interests.
In a statement issued on Sunday, party Joint Secretary General and spokesperson Maulana Ghazi Ataur Rahman said that after the Awami League government was overthrown in the July mass uprising, a large portion of local government representatives went into hiding, disrupting regular activities of city corporations, municipalities, district councils, and upazila councils.
In response to that special situation, four ordinances were issued on 17 August 2024 to remove local government representatives who had come to power through fraudulent elections during the fascist era, he said.
The ordinances created opportunities to remove representatives in special situations or in the public interest, but no definitions of “special situation” or “public interest” were provided, effectively giving the government direct authority to remove representatives and appoint administrators, the party spokesperson said.
A notable aspect of the four ordinances is that they allow direct exercise of executive power, overriding other provisions of law, opening the way to remove anyone at any time without the need for specific allegations, investigations, or judicial processes as previously required, he added.
By approving these ordinances, an effort is being made to leave local government at the mercy of the executive branch’s whims even during normal times, which will cause the local government system to lose its distinct identity and create opportunities to disregard the people’s verdict at will, Maulana Ghazi Ataur Rahman said.
The party called upon the government to move away from the tendency to disregard the people’s verdict and to practice respecting it by approving the July Charter Implementation Order and the referendum through ordinances while repealing the local government ordinances issued during the special situation.
