3. (1) There shall be constituted, in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, for the City of Khulna a Corporation to be called the Khulna ¹[City] Corporation. (2) The Corporation shall be a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with powers, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance and the rules, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

²[3A. The Corporation area shall be an administrative unit of the Republic for the purpose of Article 59 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.]

³[4. (1) The Corporation shall consist of - (a) a Mayor; (b) such number of Commissioners as may be fixed by the Government; and (c) such number of Commissioners as are reserved exclusively for women under sub section (3). (2) The Mayor and the Commissioners shall be elected by direct election on the basis of adult franchise in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance and the rules. (3) There shall be reserved, exclusively for women, such number of seats, hereinafter referred to as reserved seats, as is equivalent to one third of the number of Commissioners fixed by the Government under clause (b) of sub section (1). Explanation. In calculating the number of reserved seats under this sub section, if the number comprises a fraction of less than point five zero such fraction shall be ignored, and if the number comprises a fraction of point five zero or above such fraction shall be rounded off as a whole number. (4) Nothing in this section shall prevent a woman from being elected as a Commissioner specified in clause (b) of sub section (1). (5) The Mayor shall be deemed to be a Commissioner.]

4A. [Mayor.- Omitted by section 4 of the Khulna City Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Act No. X of 1993), which was inserted by section 2 of the Khulna Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 1986 (Ordinance No. LV of 1986).]

5. [Deputy Mayor.- Omitted by section 5 of the Khulna City Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Act No. X of 1993).]

⁴[6. (1) The term of the Corporation shall be a period of five years commencing on the day of its first meeting after its constitution ⁵[: Provided that, notwithstanding the expiration of its term, the Corporation shall continue to function until the first meeting of the Corporation constituted to succeed it.] (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance, the Corporation shall be deemed to have been duly constituted after the election of seventy five per cent of the total number of its ⁶[Commissioners ⁷[* * *]] has taken place. Explanation. For calculating the seventy five per cent of the total number of ⁸[* * *] Commissioners, less than point five zero per cent shall be ignored and point five zero and above per cent shall be rounded off into a whole number.]

7. ¹⁰[(1) The Mayor and every Commissioner shall, before taking his office or seat, as the case may be, make and subscribe, in the presence of such person as the Government may direct, an oath or affirmation in the following form, namely:- “I, ................................................................................................. having been elected Mayor/Commissioner of the Khulna City Corporation do solemnly swear/affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Bangladesh and that I will faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.”] (2) If a person sits or votes as a Commissioner before he makes or subscribes the oath or affirmation under sub-section (1), he shall be liable in respect of each day on which he so sits or votes to a penalty of one hundred Taka to be recovered as an arrear of tax under this Ordinance.

7A. [Oath of Mayor.- omitted by section 8 of the Khulna City Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Act No. X of 1993), which was inserted by section 5 of the Khulna Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 1986 (Ordinance No. LV of 1986).]

8. ¹¹[The Mayor and every Commissioner ¹²[* * *] shall, before entering upon his office or taking his seat,] submit to the Government in such manner as the Government may direct, a declaration in writing of properties, both movable and immovable, whether within or outside Bangladesh, which he or any member of his family owns, or which he has in his possession or under his control, or in which he or any member of his family has any beneficial interest. Explanation.- In this section, “member of his family”, in relation to a person, includes- (a) the spouse of such person, and (b) such of the children, parents, brothers and sisters as are residing with, and are wholly dependent upon, such person.

¹³[9. (1) The Mayor may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Government. (2) A Commissioner may resign his seat by writing under his hand addressed to the Mayor. (3) A resignation under sub section (1) or sub section (2) shall become effective on the date on which the notice of resignation is received by the addressee.]

¹⁴[10. (1) The Mayor or a Commissioner shall render himself liable to removal from his office or seat, as the case may be, if- (a) he, without reasonable excuse, absents himself from three consecutive meetings of the Corporation; or (b) he is involved in any activity prejudicial to the interest of the Corporation or of the state or is convicted for any offence relating to corruption or misconduct; or (c) he refuses to perform or becomes disabled from performing his functions; or (d) he is guilty of misconduct or abuse of power or is responsible for any loss or misapplication of money or property of the Corporation. Explanation. In this sub section, “misconduct” means misuse of power, corruption, jobbery, favouritism, nepotism and wilful maladministration and includes any attempt at, or abetment of, such misconduct. (2) The Mayor or a Commissioner shall not be removed from his office or seat, as the case may be, on any ground mentioned in sub section (1), unless, after such inquiry as may be considered necessary, the Government declares, by an order in writing, that he is liable to be so removed: Provided that no such declaration shall be made unless the Mayor or Commissioner concerned has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the declaration proposed to be made with respect to him. (3) The Mayor or the Commissioner shall stand removed from his office or seat, as the case may be, as soon as a declaration under sub section (2) is made and approved by the President. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provisions of this Ordinance, a person, who has been removed from his office or seat, as the case may be, under this section shall not, during the unexpired period of the term of the Corporation, be eligible for election to such office or seat.]

11. (1) A person shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), be qualified to be elected ¹⁶[as Mayor or a Commissioner] if- (a) he or she is a citizen of Bangladesh; (b) he or she has attained the age of twenty-five years of age in accordance with the existing electoral roll; (c) his or her name appears on the electoral roll for any ward in the Corporation. (2) A person shall be disqualified for being elected ¹⁷[as Mayor or] a Commissioner it- (a) he or she is declared by a competent Court to be of unsound mind; (b) he or she is an undischarged insolvent; (c) he or she has ceased to be a citizen of Bangladesh; (d) he or she has been,- (i) on conviction for any offence, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years; or (ii) on conviction for any offence relating to corruption or criminal misconduct, sentenced to imprisonment for any term, unless a period of five years or such less period as the Government may allow in any particular case, has elapsed since his or her release; (e) he or she holds any full-time office of profit in the service of the Republic or of the Corporation or of any other local authority; or (f) he or she is a party to a contract for work to be done for, or goods to be supplied to, the Corporation, or has otherwise any pecuniary interest in its affairs, or is a dealer, for any area within the Corporation in essential commodities appointed by the Government ¹⁸[; (g) he or she has defaulted in repaying any loan taken by him or her from any specified bank within the time allowed by the bank therefor. Explanation. For the purposes of clause (g), “specified bank” means the Sonali Bank, the Agrani Bank and the Janata Bank constituted under the Bangladesh Banks (Nationalisation) Order, 1972 (P.O. No. 26 of 1972), the Shilpa Rin Sangstha established under the Shilpa Rin Sangstha Order, 1972 (P.O. No. 128 of 1972), the Bangladesh Shilpa Bank established under the Bangladesh Shilpa Bank Order, 1972 (P.O. No. 129 of 1972), the House Building Finance Corporation established under the House Building Finance Corporation Order, 1973 (P.O. No. 7 of 1973), the Krishi Bank established under the Krishi Bank Order, 1973 (P.O. No. 27 of 1973), the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh established under the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh Ordinance, 1976 (XL of 1976), the Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank established under the Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank Ordinance, 1986 (LVIII of 1986), and the Rupali Bank Limited ¹⁹[; ²⁰[(h) he or she is a defaulter in paying any of the tax, rate, cess, toll or fee levied under this Ordinance; (i) he or she has been dismissed from the service of the Republic or of any local authority for misconduct involving moral turpitude and a period of five years has not elapsed since his or her dismissal.]] ²¹[(2A) A person shall not, at the same time, be a candidate for election to the office of Mayor or, as the case may be, seat of Commissioner. (2B) If a person offers himself, at the same time, to be a candidate for election to the office of Mayor or seat of Commissioner, all his nomination papers shall stand void.] (3) No person shall, at the same time be a Commissioner in respect of two or more wards: Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall prevent a person from being at the same time a candidate for two or more wards, but in the event of his being elected for more than one ward- (i) within seven days after his last election, the person elected shall deliver to the Election Commissioner a signed declaration specifying the ward which he wishes to represent, and the seats of other wards for which he was elected shall thereupon become vacant; (ii) if the person elected fails to comply with clause (i), all seats for which he was elected shall fall vacant; and (iii) the person elected shall not make or subscribe oath or affirmation of a Commissioner until the foregoing provisions of this proviso have been complied with. ²²[(4) When the office of Mayor falls vacant during the term of the Corporation, a Commissioner may contest the election to the office of Mayor, and if he is elected, his Commissionership shall cease on the date he makes the oath of office of Mayor.]

12. (1) The ²⁴[office of Mayor and seat of a Commissioner] shall become vacant if- (a) he fails to make the oath referred to in section 7 within the period of thirty days after the date of publication of his name in the official Gazette, unless the Government, for good cause shown, extends the period; (b) he resigns his seat under section 9; (c) he is removed from his seat under section 10; (d) he becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 11 (2); or (e) he dies. (2) and (2A) [Omitted by section 13 of the Khulna City Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1993 (Act No. X of 1993).] (3) If any question arises as to whether ²⁵[the Mayor or a Commissioner] has, after his election, become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 11(2), the Chief Executive Officer shall refer the question to the District Judge of Khulna and, if the District Judge is of the opinion that ²⁶[the Mayor or the Commissioner] has become subject to any such disqualification, ²⁷[the Mayor or the Commissioner] shall cease to be ²⁸[the Mayor or a Commissioner], and his seat shall become vacant, with effect from the date on which the opinion is given. ²⁹[(4) Vacation of office of the Mayor or the vacation of seat of a Commissioner shall be notified in the official Gazette.]

13. (1) Where the seat of a Commissioner becomes vacant not later than one hundred and eighty days before the term of Corporation is due to expire, an election ³⁰[* * *] to fill the seat shall be held ³¹[* * *] within ninety days of the occurrence of the vacancy, and the person who is elected in such election ³²[* * *] shall hold office for the residue of such term. (2) Where the office of ³³[* * *] ³⁴[* * *] Mayor becomes Vacant before the term of the Corporation is due to expire, an election to fill the office shall be held within ³⁵[ninety days] of the occurrence of such vacancy, and the person who is elected in such election shall hold office for the residue of such term.

14. A Commissioner shall be entitled to receive a daily allowance for attending any meeting of the Corporation or of any Standing Committee or other Committee thereof at such rate as may be fixed by the Corporation with the approval of the Government.

15. The ³⁸[* * *] ³⁹[Mayor] may be given such honorarium and other privileges as may be determined by the Corporation with the approval of the Government.

16. (1) The Mayor shall have full access to the records of the Corporation and may obtain report from the Chief Executive Officer or any other officer on any matter connected with municipal administration of the City. (2) A Commissioner shall have access during office hours to the records of the Corporation after giving due notice in writing to the Chief Executive Officer: Provided that if the Chief Executive Officer is of the opinion that such access should not be allowed in any case he may submit the matter to the Mayor whose decision thereon shall be final.

⁴⁰[17. (1) When the Mayor is absent from his duties on account of illness or any other cause, a Commissioner authorised in writing by the Mayor shall perform the functions of the Mayor till the Mayor resumes his duties. (2) When the office of Mayor becomes vacant caused by resignation, removal or death, such Commissioner as may be directed by Government shall perform the functions of the Mayor till a new Mayor is elected and assumes his duties.]