Residents of Rampur Union Parishad in Dinajpur's Parbatipur upazila have been deprived of full civic services due to the absence of any union council election for the past 15 years.
According to locals, the last election for Rampur Union Parishad was held in 2011 alongside the rest of the country, resulting in the victory of Shahadat Hossain Sado as chairman. He was a leader of the upazila BNP. He subsequently faced the wrath of the then-government, was arrested in various cases, and sent to jail. Eventually, in 2018, Shahadat Hossain Sado was removed from the post of chairman, and Ward No. 5 member Ekramul Haque was assigned as the acting chairman—a position he has been holding to date.
On the other hand, due to complexities surrounding the expansion of the Parbatipur municipality borders, elections were initially stalled across eight upazila union parishads. While elections were eventually held in all except Rampur and Palashbari union parishads—and later even Palashbari held its polls—Rampur Union Parishad remained excluded from the electoral process.
Although municipal boundary complexities existed, the municipality's first EVM-based election was successfully completed on December 2, 2022. However, elections for Rampur Union Parishad remain indefinitely suspended.
When contacted, Parbatipur Upazila Election Officer Subho Kumar Sarkar explained that because ward redarcitation has not been completed and no gazette notification has been issued, the election process cannot be initiated.
Frustrated local intellectuals and residents lamented that keeping elections suspended in this manner deprives citizens of their fundamental right to choose representatives of their choice, ultimately leaving the union deprived of comprehensive administrative and developmental services.
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by Monjurul Alam, Parbatipur (Dinajpur) ) • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
