Earlier, on 23 February, the government appointed administrators to six city corporations, including Dhaka North and Dhaka South. In Dhaka South, BNP leader Md Abdus Salam, who did not receive party nomination, was appointed. In Dhaka North, Md Shafiqul Islam Khan, who lost in Dhaka-15, was appointed after contesting against Jamaat ameer Shafiqur Rahman. In Khulna, Nazrul Islam Manju, who contested as a BNP candidate in Khulna-2, lost to a Jamaat candidate. In Sylhet and Narayanganj, Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury and Md Sakhawat Hossain Khan were denied party nomination. In Gazipur, Md Shawkat Hossain Sarkar had been a parliamentary candidate for Gazipur-2 following an increase in constituencies, but later could not contest after the High Court declared the expansion invalid.

On the issue, Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman, a former professor of Public Administration at the University of Dhaka, told Prothom Alo that appointing party-affiliated individuals as administrators is not only a way to control local government institutions but also to bring party’s own people to the forefront. He added that many of those appointed lack relevant experience.

He noted that there was a special context during the interim government, but now an elected government is in power. In such a situation, appointing administrators instead of taking initiative for elections represents a deviation, and holding elections would have been the better course of action.