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The National Citizen Party (NCP) has expressed deep concern, outrage, and severe condemnation over contradictory statements between the Election Commission (EC) and the government regarding the schedule and procedures of upcoming local government elections, calling out the constitutional body's subservient posture.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday (September 15), the party's convener and member secretary criticized the commission's compromised autonomy. The statement highlighted that shortly after Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah announced provisional dates across seven phases for the local polls, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam claimed the government was kept in the dark and no consultations had occurred. Subsequently, EC Secretary Akhter Ahmed remarked in the media that the state minister's statement was final and indisputable, which the NCP labeled as a glaring sign of institutional subservience.
NCP leaders asserted that as an independent constitutional entity, the commission must exercise its mandate without executive interference. They accused the government of undermining constitutional safeguards by politicizing state organs, noting that appointing party-affiliated individuals on contract as additional secretaries inside the commission further erodes institutional integrity.
Warning the administration, the party leadership declared that following the July mass uprising, the public will not tolerate a pliant election body. The NCP affirmed that if the government persists in undermining constitutional institutions, it will launch vigorous street protests alongside the public to safeguard democratic electoral integrity.
