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The search committee yesterday submitted its 10 nominations to the president for appointments to the next Election Commission, and a gazette notification in this regard is expected “within a day or two”.
The committee members, except its chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, arrived at the president’s official residence Bangabhaban at 7:30pm, said President Abdul Hamid’s Press Secretary Mohammad Joynal Abedin.
The president will pick five for the EC appointments.
After the search committee’s meeting with the president, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told journalists, “The search Committee submitted its report to the honourable president and he received it. Now he [president] will review it and give the next directives soon.”
He said, “The gazette notification will be issued within a day or two.”
When asked whether it would published yesterday, he replied, “As soon as possible.”
Asked whether the names will be published, he said, “The rule is to publish the names of five. You will know who will be appointed.”
According to a Bangabhaban press release, President Abdul Hamid commended and thanked the members of the search committee for their tireless efforts.
He hoped that based on the recommendations of the committee, it would be possible to form a strong and acceptable election commission which would be able to conduct free and fair national and local elections.
After the panel met on Tuesday at the Supreme Court Judges’ Lounge, meeting sources said, ex-bureaucrats, ex-army officials, former judges, university teachers and social workers made up the final nominations.
A source in the committee said for the post of the chief election commissioner, they proposed the names of two persons who do not have experience of serving in a bureaucratic post.
Sources close to developments said the names discussed for the next EC are: former cabinet secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, former cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, former secretary Habibul Awal, ex-army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, former Public Service Commission chairman Muhammed Sadique, former secretary Ujjwal Bikash Dutta, Justice (retd) Nazmun Ara Sultana, former Dhaka University VC AAMS Arefin Siddique, DU teacher Sadeka Halim, local government expert Tofail Ahmed, President of Fair Election Monitoring Alliance Munira Khan, economist Mansur Ahmed and former principal secretary Abdul Karim.
The Daily Frontline, however, could not verify those names independently.
After formation of the search committee under the “Appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act-2022” on February 5, the panel asked political parties, professional bodies and individuals to submit their nominations.
The committee then received 322 names.
The committee held meetings with eminent citizens, media personalities, university teachers and election experts to learn their views and suggestions over formation of the Election Commission.
Following the recommendations of them, the search panel published all 322 names but it did not publish the names of the final nominations.
Sources in the meeting said revealing the names before sending them to the president would be “discourteous”, and some quarters may also create controversy over it.
The BNP and some other opposition parties did not propose any names, citing no confidence in the search committee.
Meanwhile, Transparency International Bangladesh in a statement demanded that the final nominations submitted to the president be published.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, “We demand publishing the list of 10 nominations finalised by the search committee [as it] is in full compliance with the principles of transparency and impartiality prescribed by law.”
