Bangladesh shuffles officers from six BCS batches ahead of general election

The BNP questioned the motive behind the move, but State Minister Farhad Hossain dismissed suggestions of mala fide intent on the government's part

The government has assigned new responsibilities to officers from six different batches of the Bangladesh Civil Service in a major administrative shake-up ahead of the 12th national election.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) questioned the motive behind the move, but State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain has brushed aside any suggestions of foul play.

Accordingly, officers from the 24th, 25th, and 27th BCS batches will assume the positions of deputy commissioners in various districts and act as returning officers during the election.

Meanwhile, officers from the 33rd, 34th, and 35th BCS batches will serve as Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) and fulfil the duties of deputy returning officers.

The 25th BCS batch of officers began their assignments in August 2006, while the 27th batch joined in November 2008.

"Officers from the 22nd batch will be replaced by officers from the 27th batch as deputy commissioners," said Farhad.

Currently, around 20 officers from the 22nd batch, 29 officers from the 24th batch, and 15 officers from the 25th batch are serving as deputy commissioners.

The officers from the 22nd batch, who previously served as deputy secretaries, have been promoted to joint secretaries and transferred to other districts.

Within a span of three days, two notices were issued ordering the transfer of 20 officers from different districts.

"All officers from the 22nd batch will be replaced as deputy commissioners once they are promoted to joint secretaries this month," the state minister added.

According to a few officials, officers from the 25th and 27th batches will be appointed as deputy commissioners.

The Ministry of Public Administration aims to appoint new UNOs from the 35th batch by the end of July. Currently, officers from the 33rd and 34th batches are serving as UNOs.

Ministry officials have prepared a list of suitable officers from the 25th and 27th batches for the position of deputy commissioner. Fifteen officers from the 25th batch already serve in that capacity, and more will be appointed.

State Minister Farhad said that a 'fit list' of officers from the 28th batch will be prepared for the role of deputy commissioner by September. However, their appointments prior to the election are not feasible. Therefore, deputy commissioners will be freshly appointed from the 27th batch.

Furthermore, the government has finalised a list of officers from the 34th and 35th batches for appointment as UNOs. These officers have received training on upazila administration and development. The batch consists of a total of 291 officers.

An official from the Ministry of Public Administration said that a few officers from the 24th batch may be removed from the position of deputy commissioner. Intelligence agencies have scrutinised the backgrounds of officers set to work as deputy commissioners during the election, including their student lives, to verify any political affiliations.

Officers will be disqualified from serving as deputy commissioners if any political affiliation is found.

Due to a shortage of staff, the Election Commission relies on administration officers to conduct elections. Deputy commissioners assume the role of returning officers in the districts, excluding the metropolitan areas.

During the 2018 general election, divisional commissioners in Dhaka and Chattogram served as returning officers for the metropolitan parliamentary seats.

In addition to UNOs, additional deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners (land), and deputy directors in the local government department were appointed as deputy returning officers in that election.

The returning officer bears the primary responsibility for conducting an election, while those under their supervision ensure law and order and handle other tasks. The returning officers carry out their tasks in line with the Representation of the People Order (RPO) and the Election Code of Conduct.

STATE MINISTER DENIES BNP ALLEGATIONS

The main opposition party, BNP, has labelled the reshuffle in the local administration before the upcoming 12th general election as "intentional".

"Major reshuffles in the police force, wide-scale promotions of administrative officers, and the recent reshuffle among secretaries, as reported in some newspapers, all indicate significant changes in the administration," the party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.

"There is a clear motive behind all of this, which is to establish an advantageous position [for the government] before the election."

However, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain refuted these allegations.

He insisted that the changes were part of a 'regular system' and said, "Joint secretaries cannot remain in the post of deputy commissioner. This is a routine replacement."

"Allegations that the government has been manipulating the local administration before the election are baseless. We strictly adhere to rules and regulations. We do not engage in favouritism or bias. Our focus is solely on the skills, eligibility, and performance of the officers when it comes to promotions."

Farhad emphasised that the government appoints eligible and skilled officers to the local administration. Once appointed, these officers need to understand administrative processes.

He added that deputy commissioners must complete ongoing projects before the election and ensure that regular development work continues without any disruption.