Staff Reporter :
Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina will give nomination to her party’s chairman candidates in the upcoming Union Parishad elections schedule to begin from March 22.
The ruling party on Monday sent a letter signed by AL general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam to the Election Commission (EC) in this regard. The letter contains the name and sample signature of Sheikh Hasina.
A three-member delegation led by party’s information and research secretary Afzal Hossain submitted the letter to the EC.
Election Commissioner M Shah Newaz received the letter.
AL central unit leader Sujit Nandi and SM Kamal were present during the submission of letter.
The first phase election to country’s 752 Union Parishads will be held on March 22. The EC will arrange polls to 4,275 Parishads out of 4,546 in six phases by June next.
“All political parties are supposed to submit name of the person who will give nomination to the candidates for his or her respective parties. We have submitted our party President Sheikh Hasina’s name to Election Commissioner Shah Newaz,” he told journalists.
He added AL President Sheikh Hasina will give her approval to the party’s nomination forms.’
Earlier, the party high command asked its grassroots leaders to send names of party candidates by February 15 (Monday) for contesting the Chairman posts in the six-phase Union Parishad elections.
They were asked to suggest a single aspirant for each chairman post with the party’s ticket.
As per the decisions, an election board has been formed for each Union Parishad comprising six grassroots leaders-presidents and general secretaries of district, upazila and union units of AL
For the first phase, last dates for filing and withdrawal of nominations are February 22 and March 2 respectively. After the EC completes scrutiny by February 24, polls symbol will be allocated on March 3.
The country’s Union Parishads have so far gone to polls eight times-in 1973, 1977, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1997, 2003 and 2011. The 2011 elections, too, were held in two phases.
