All eyes are now on the formation process of election commission (EC). Everyone is interested to know udder whom the elections will be held, who’re going to be included in EC. Over 500 names were proposed to the search committee from political parties, important persons, and professional organizations for forming the EC. The names were proposed for the posts include chief election commissioner and other election commissioners and they were submitted to the cabinet division who is in charge of assisting the search committee.
More than one sources of the cabinet division confirmed the matter to The Bangladesh Pratidin. Over 500 names were proposed, but the total number hasn’t been confirmed yet. Thursday was the last day for the submission of the names of competent persons to search committee. Maxim names have been submitted on last two days. According to the cabinet division sources, the names were proposed directly or through email till 5pm on Thursday.
According to 2 anonymous sources, the number of proposed names is more than 500. Various people have been assigned the work in this regard. Some of them are listing the names from the email, some of them are correcting the written list, while some other are compiling the list and filing it. Another source said that more than five people are working on it. Everyone is assigned with a separate task. The last two days were full of a lot of list submission pressure. Sources said that a large number of names have been received within a certain period. Work continued till 10 pm on Thursday with the list in the cabinet department. It is known that almost all small and big groups have proposed names. Sources of multiple parties said that some parties have proposed the names of government officials, retired judges, teachers, writers and former army officers in the list of names. Various parties have mentioned the professions; however they didn’t name any specific nominees.
Cabinet Secretary Sheikh on Thursday night Abdur Rashid told The Bangladesh Pratidin, "Many names have been submitted to the search committee including political parties, various professional organizations and individuals. It has not been specified yet but the number is many. It is said that the number of proposed names is more than 500.”
When asked about this, the Cabinet Secretary said, "It is not impossible to tell right now. But our officials are working on it to "compile" the list. If it is finalized, we will present it in the next meeting according to the demand of search committee.”
The search committee on November 3 asked five names from political parties, professional organizations and individuals to find qualified persons to form the EC. However, some people from the private sector and professional organizations have suggested more than five names. Recommended names along with full resume are requested to be sent directly or through email to the Cabinet Department.
The search committee will select the eligible persons after verifying the names submitted at a specified time. Besides, they will talk within themselves and meet with various individuals, groups, organizations and professionals and submit a total of 10 names to the President. The President will form the Election Commission by finalizing the names of a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and four other Election Commissioners from there. BNP, one of the largest parties in the country, submitted a list of five names to the cabinet division on Sunday. Cabinet Secretary BNP Standing Committee Member Dr. Salahuddin Ahmed and Joint Secretary General Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie handed over the list of names to Sheikh Abdur Rashid.
A representative group led by General Secretary Rashed Khan submitted names on behalf of the Gono Odhikar Parishad. Later Rashed Khan said that people who will rehabilitate Awami League cannot be appointed in the Election Commission. He also demanded to appoint at least one university teacher in EC. The names of six people, including former army officers, bureaucrats, doctors, lawyers, have been submitted to the EC.
Earlier on Sunday, the search committee issued a notification seeking names for the formation of the new election commission. Before that on October 31, a search committee was formed and a notification was issued. The six-member search committee is headed by Zubair Rahman Chowdhury, the senior judge of the Appellate Division. The members of the committee are Senior High Court Judge AKM Asaduzzaman, former chairman of Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) professor Jinnatun Nessa Tahmida Begum and former professor of International Relations Department of Dhaka University Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, auditor general and controller Md. Nurul Islam and PSC chairman Mobaswer Monem. The committee will propose the names of 10 people to the President within 15 working days to form the EC.
During the formation of the last election commission, the then search committee received more than 600 names in 2022. Later, a shortened list of 322 was published on the Cabinet website. From there EC was formed at that time.
(Translated by Lutful Hoque)
