Published: 27 May 2024
One of the most important levels of local government in Bangladesh is the Upazila Parishad. The Constitution of Bangladesh recognizes local government as a representative institution and an important means for public participation in order to establish a democratic system at the grassroots level. The Constitution of Bangladesh contains four articles related to local government (Articles 9, 11, 59, and 60). These articles provide a clear explanation of the role and functions of local government. Specifically, Article 59(1) states, “The responsibility of local governance in each administrative unit of the Republic will be vested in institutions formed by elected representatives as per the law.” Article 60 of the Constitution provides local government institutions with the power to impose taxes for local needs, prepare budgets, and manage their own funds.
According to Section 15(3) of the Upazila Parishad Election Rules 2013, any individual wishing to participate in the election must provide a series of declarations in the form of an affidavit. These declarations include educational qualifications, profession and source of income, details of any legal cases, income and expenditures of the candidate and their dependents, as well as assets and liabilities. The affidavit serves as the primary document for verifying the eligibility and disqualification of candidates. Therefore, the importance of the affidavit is high in order to select the right candidate through a comparative analysis among the candidates. It also creates opportunities for accountability and transparency at the local level by providing access to income and asset details for comparison. While the Election Commission publishes the candidates’ affidavits, accountability regarding income and asset acquisition or growth of elected representatives has not yet been established. Moreover, there is limited capacity to make this information accessible and usable for the general public at the local level.
In this context, an initiative has been taken to make all the information in the affidavits more accessible and analytically useful. To raise voter awareness about candidates in local government elections, similar to the national parliamentary elections, and to establish accountability, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has created a Know Your Candidate (KYC) database based on the candidates’ affidavits.
For more information see below-
