The government will soon take decision whether it will hold local government elections before the national polls, said Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan on Tuesday.
“Although discussions are in progress no final decision has been made yet. Either election will be held or administrators will be appointed to run local government institutions," he told reporters at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium on the final day of the Deputy Commissioners' (DC) Conference.
The adviser said officials who are currently managing local government institutions alongside their primary responsibilities are facing challenges.
"Divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners are burdened with multiple works. I personally believe that electing public representatives is necessary to ensure proper governance," he said.
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Responding to a question, Asif Mahmud said that elected representatives would help maintain law and order and contribute to smoother election management. “However, the final decision rests with the government.”
Now a common complaint is the difficulty in obtaining birth, or death certificates due to the unavailability of dedicated officials, he said.