The search committee tasked to recommend names has shortlisted 20 for the new five-member Election Commission.
Published : 31 Jan 2017, 10:51 PM
The names have been chosen from the lists of around 125 proposed by the political parties with which the president had dialogues.
“The committee received around 120 to 125 names. From them, the committee has selected 20 names in the initial list based on their honesty, efficiency and experience,” Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told journalists on Tuesday.
Declining to disclose any name, he hinted that “the committee may propose some names which are not included in this list”.
Only 10 names will be forwarded to the president, who will then select five – the chief election commissioner and four commissioners.
The tenure of the current EC expires in February.
One of the main tasks of the new commission will be to hold 2019 general elections to form the 11th Parliament.
Shafiul said since there are rivalries between the political parties, the committee is not disclosing any names just yet”.
“The committee members have not yet proposed any name in any of the meetings,” he added.
Earlier, President Md Abdul Hamid had dialogues with 31 political parties including the ruling Awami League and its arch-rival BNP as part of the process of selecting a search committee.
The search committee also met distinguished citizens to get their views on the next electoral commission.
The committee had sought names from all those parties, but only 27 of them responded. Two of them, however, did not propose any name.
The committee has been given 10 working days to submit the names to the president and that time ends on Feb 8.
“We have very little time in hand. The committee is working on meeting the deadline set by the president,” the Cabinet secretary added.
The search committee is headed Appellate Division judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain. The other members of the committee are High Court judge Justice Obaidul Hassan, Bangladesh Public Service Commission Chairman Dr Muhammed Sadique, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Masud Ahmed, Dhaka University English Department Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam, and Chittagong University Pro-VC Shireen Akhter.
The Cabinet Division is providing secretarial support to the committee.