NCP demands dissolution of ‘partisan’ Hill District Councils, calls for elections

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has demanded the dissolution of the interim Hill District Councils in Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban, alleging that the bodies have been politicised through one-sided appointments.

In a statement, the party called for direct elections to establish neutral, inclusive and accountable councils representing the diverse communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The NCP alleged that political affiliation appeared to have been prioritised in appointing the chairpersons and members of the interim councils formed on Aug. 20, 2026.

It said people representing political views and social forces outside the Bangladesh Nationalist Party were virtually absent from the three councils.

Such appointments had raised questions about the councils’ neutrality and inclusiveness and weakened public confidence in them, the party said.

The NCP said the Hill District Councils were institutions of the people, not organisational bodies of any political party.

Appointments should be based on competence, integrity, experience, public engagement and local realities, while ensuring fair representation of the region’s different ethnic groups and communities, it added.

The party warned that excessive politicisation could obstruct development and deepen inequality, mistrust and political divisions in the sensitive region.

It also questioned why the councils had continued to operate through unelected nominees for decades.

Elections were held in the hill districts in 1989 following the enactment of the Hill District Council laws that year. No regular direct elections have been held since, with successive governments administering the institutions through nominated or interim councils.

The NCP said this had denied residents their democratic right to elect representatives directly.

“An interim council can only be a temporary administrative arrangement; it can never be a substitute for elected representation,” the party said.

It urged the government to arrange free and direct elections for the positions of chairperson and member in all three councils without delay.

Until elections are held, any interim arrangement must ensure neutrality, local representation and the participation of different ethnic communities instead of rewarding partisan loyalty, the NCP said.

The party added that development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts was the right of every resident, not the preserve of any single political party, group or community.

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