Power struggle at Election Commission again

A power struggle has resurfaced in the Election Commission a year into the battle to exert authority was flung out into the open.

It all began two weeks ago over the recruitment to vacant posts in the commission.

On Sunday, the four election commissioners sent a joint “unofficial note” to Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda telling him about their discontent.

“We are not informed about many important decisions of the commission. We’ve asked [the CEC] to inform us about the decisions,” Election Commissioner Rafiqul Islam said.

But EC Secretary Md Alamgir told reporters, when asked for his comments: “Everything has been done following the rules.”

He, however, said he was unaware of the note.

Such a conflict took place at the EC headed by Nurul Huda before the general election last year when the commissioners had alleged they had been kept in the dark about many important decisions.

An office order was issued to inform the commissioners about the decisions following the rules then.

In the latest note, the commissioners said CEC Nurul Huda backed Secretary Alamgir when the latter responded to a commissioner’s question by saying that the issue was beyond their authority in a meeting on Nov 14.

The secretary also said the commission’s permission is required by the law only for issues related to polls while the EC Secretariat takes steps on other issues following the CEC’s consent.

The commissioners disagree.

They say the secretary’s remarks indicate that the EC Secretariat officials are not under full control of the EC, but only under the CEC and the secretary, which will hinder efforts to ensure transparency and accountability.

The commissioners have also said such actions clearly breach the related laws.

It is the fourth time such a conflict over control has hit the EC.

Two election commissioners of the erstwhile commission headed by ATM Shamsul Huda were vocal for an amendment to the Independent EC Secretariat Act that gave the CEC and the EC secretary ‘absolute authority’.

But that was “unconstitutional”, said the then election commissioner Sahul Hossain. Another former election commissioner, M Sakhawat Hossain, had also objected.

A similar question was raised 10 years later in a “conflict of power” in the EC headed by Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad.

The rumble of discord rolled into the EC headed by Nurul Huda.