Abstract
Constitutional basis, the changing pattern of municipalization, and the existing structure of urban-local government bodies in Bangladesh have been discussed in this chapter. It has been learnt that the municipalities of Bangladesh had its origin in British rule and remained almost the same after that, with only a few changes incorporated into its structure. Different successive governments since the British rule have used “changes in the structural design” as a strategy to impose control on the municipalities. Even after independence, municipalities were administered by government-appointed mayors until 1994 when for the first time in the history of Bangladesh elections were held for the post of mayors and councilors of CCs. Since then, there has been a regular election in different urban government bodies.
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Notes
- 1.
“Chowkidar” means village watchman.
- 2.
The military ruler who staged a coup d’etat in 1958 used to believe that the intellect of the Pakistani people was not suited to the Westminster-type representative government. The new regime was in favor of a guided democracy, which was to be characterized by authoritarian government at the top and representative government at the local level. This variety of local government was known as “Basic Democracy” (Siddique 1994: 48).
- 3.
In the recent past, a number of Pourashavas (single or in combination of two or three) have been upgraded to the status of CCs. These include Narayanganj (with Siddirgonj and Kadam Rasul Pourashavas amalgamated), Comilla, Gazipur (with Tongi Pourashava amalgamated), and Rangpur. Election to the Narayangonj CC was held in November, 2011. The new Mayor, Dr. Selina Hyat Ivy, assumed office on December 1, 2011. Election of the Comilla CC was held on January 5, 2012. The election to these CCs has been positive developments in municipalization. That the democratic process in Bangladesh has achieved a reasonable level of maturity is evident from the fact that all elections held since 2008 have been considered free, fair, and credible by both neutral observers and the people.
- 4.
The new act demanded that election to the two CC Councils, including that of the mayor, would have to be completed within 90 days of the appointment of the Administrator. Implementing the two tasks, managing the division of DCC into North DCC and South DCC, and holding of the elections within 90 days, at the same time proved to be unrealistic. The Parliament has amended the Act again allowing 180 days in place of 90 days for holding the election.
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Panday, P.K. (2017). A Brief History of Urban Governance in Bangladesh. In: Reforming Urban Governance in Bangladesh. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49598-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49598-9_2
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