Awami League plea to 'put trust' in president after he forms EC search committee

The BNP is ‘disgusted’ with the search committee to select the members of the new Election Commission, but the ruling Awami League has urged all to ‘have confidence' in the president.

Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul Alam Hanif made the appeal while speaking to bdnews24.com after the search committee was officially announced on Wednesday.

“We will urge all the political parties to keep faith in the honourable president and not to mislead the people only to make a political issue or to continue the blame game for nothing,” he said.

“Surely the Election Commission will be accepted by all," he added.

Hanif hailed President Md Abdul Hamid for forming the search committee after holding the talks with the political parties on the constitution of the next EC.

"He could constitute the EC without forming the search committee. He took the steps to form an EC which will be acceptable to all," Hanif said.

The BNP reaction came earlier in the day, when the news media had published the names of the members of the search committee, citing sources.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, "The honourable President has given us a glowing example of non-partisanship. We are not only disappointed, we are angry. We can already sense the kind of commission this search committee can make."

Hanif said the president considered proposals of all the political parties in forming the search committee.

"We hope the president will form a strong EC which will be acceptable to all following recommendations of this search committee," he said.

Supreme Court’s Appellate Division judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain is heading the committee.

The other members of the panel are Justice Obaidul Hassan, Public Service Commission Chairman Muhammed Sadique, Dhaka University English Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam, Chittagong University Pro-VC Shireen Akhter, and Comptroller and Auditor General Masud Ahmed.