‘219 mayor candidates accused in criminal cases’

At least 219 mayor candidates among 904 of the country’s maiden partisan municipality polls are accused in different criminal cases, an analysis of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujan) said.

Sujan, a civil society platform working for good governance, came up with the analysis of total 904 mayor candidates nominated by different political parties and independent candidates.

Among the profiles covered in the analysis, 221 candidates are nominated by ruling Awami League, 206 by BNP, while the rest are independent candidates and nominated by other political parties.

The 219 accused criminals include 36 murder case accused – seven from ruling Awami League, 15 from BNP and 14 other candidates, Badiul Alam Majumder, general secretary of Sujan, disclosed during a programme at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity this morning.

“How can the parties nominate currently accused persons in criminal cases for the mayoral race?” Badiul questioned.

Regarding educational background of the candidates, Sujan analysis found around 25 percent mayor candidates not completing high school education.

Forty candidates from Awami League and BNP each did not pass the high school level education, Badiul said.

The Sujan general secretary also expressed concerns over the increasing number of businessmen in politics.

Among the 904 candidates analysed by Sujan, 652 candidates are businessmen, Badiul informed.

Regarding the Election Commission (EC), Badiul alleged that the EC was seen silent on several occasions of irregularities earlier.

Although the EC has all the authority to take necessary actions, Sujan expresses concerns whether the commission will be able to hold a free and fair municipality election, Badiul observed.