City Corp polls

Staff Correspondent

The Election Commission has asked financial institutions to cooperate with returning officers for elections to four city corporations and nine municipalities in identifying loan defaulters.

The main election office has recently sent a letter to the central bank and retail banks and other financial institutions, describing the rules that bar loan defaulters from taking part in city and municipality polls.
 
The financial institutions have been asked to send representatives to find out loan defaulters during the verification of nomination forms. bdnews24.com collected a copy of the letter.
 
The polls to four city corporations and nine municipalities are slated to take place on Aug 4. Nomination papers will be verified Sunday and Monday.
 
According to the letter, those to be found defaulting on loan repayments for one year will be considered ineligible to contest the polls.
 
Any financial institution will be allowed to challenge the returning officers' decision allowing loan defaulters to contest the polls.
 
An appeal must be submitted within two days from the candidate getting returning officer's clearance. The appeal must be disposed of in the following two days.
 
In case of city corporations, the financial institutions will appeal to additional divisional commissioners. The appeal against the candidates of municipalities will be submitted to deputy commissioner.
 
The previous rules will not allow any objection against the returning officers' decision.
 
Syed Khurshid Anwar, deputy secretary of the EC secretariat, told bdnews24.com that house and agriculture loans were kept out of the purview of the rules relating to candidacy.
 
The time for verification of candidacy has been extended from one day to two days, he said.
 
Another senior EC official said it was difficult to gather necessary information for verification in a day. "Returning officers will often make mistakes due to shortage of time and information," the official.
 
Preferring anonymity, a divisional deputy election commissioner, also a returning officer, told bdnews24.com that he would get only six minutes to verify a nomination paper this year.
 
Md Abdul Baten, senior assistant secretary of the EC secretariat, said that 1,865 people signed up for 278 posts of mayor and councillor in four city corporations and nine municipalities.

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