[ALOCHONA] 4 Ex Mayors May Be Barred From City Corporation Polls

4 detained mayors may be barred from city corporation polls

Courtesy New Age 22/6/08

The detained mayors of Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna and Barisal city corporations may be disqualified from contesting the elections to the city corporations scheduled for August 4.
   Two of the four mayors – Mizanur Rahman Minu (Rajshahi) and Sheikh Tayebur Rahman (Khulna) – have already been convicted of patronising militancy and extortion and the rest two – Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran (Sylhet) and Majibur Rahman Sarwar (Barisal) – are facing graft charges.
   The Election Commission on Friday announced the schedule for elections to four city corporations and nine municipalities setting August 4 as the polling day.
   According to the Local Government (City Corporations) Ordinance 2008, promulgated on May 24 in accordance with the commission’s proposal, a person, who has been sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years on conviction for a criminal offence or an offence involving moral turpitude, will be disqualified from contesting the elections to the city corporations, unless a period of five years has lapsed since his/her release.
   Rajshahi mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu, arrested on June 11, 2007, was sentenced to imprisonment for 31 years on August 26, 2007 on charge of patronising militancy and for 13 years in an extortion case on July 29, 2007. He is also facing a number of criminal and graft cases.
   Khulna mayor Sheikh Tayebur Rahman, arrested on October 2, 2007, was jailed on May 25for seven years in an extortion case. Tayebur, who is also facing 12 more cases on extortion charges, was on May 26 jailed again for 10 years in another extortion case.
   Although both Minu and Tayebur have already appealed to the High Court against their convictions, they may be barred from contesting the polls in accordance with the Emergency Powers Rules.
   The military-controlled interim government on February 13, 2007 amended the emergency rules, framed on January 25, 2007, stipulating that no person convicted in a case under the emergency rules would be allowed to contest any polls, including the national and local government elections, even if the convict appeals against the conviction.
   Sylhet mayor Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran, arrested on May 28, 2007, and Barisal mayor Majibur Rahman Sarwar, arrested on May 29, 2007, have not been convicted in any cases as yet.
   The Local Government (City Corporations) Ordinance 2008 empowers the government to suspend an elected mayor or commissioner, against whom the charge sheet in a criminal case has been accepted by a court.
   According to the laws, a person, who warrants suspension from an office, cannot contest any poll to the office.
   The courts in Sylhet and Barisal have already accepted charge sheets in the cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission against Badar and Sarwar respectively for amassing illegal wealth and hiding information in their wealth statements submitted to the commission.

 

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