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Published : 06 Feb 2017, 01:42 PM
According to two members of the president-formed committee and officials of Cabinet Division, which is providing secretarial support to it, former public servants, retired judges, military officers and police chiefs as well as university professors may be include in the list of recommendations for election commissioners.
The six-member panel headed by Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain has sought an audience with President Md Abdul Hamid on Monday.
"The meeting between the president and the six members of the search committee is scheduled to be held (Monday) evening," Press Secretary to the President Md Joynal Abedin told bdnews24.com on Sunday.
"Hopefully, the search committee will recommend the names for the CEC and the election commissioners," he added.
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The search committee, formed on Jan 25, first invited political parties to give their preferences after they were involved in a dialogue with the President on the next EC.
It later heard opinions of distinguished citizens before making a shortlist of 20.
The search panel is expected to prune the list to 10 on Monday afternoon at the judges' lounge of the Supreme Court.
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Masud Ahmed, who is on the panel, told bdnews24.com on Sunday they would try to finalise 10 names - two each for the CEC and four election commissioners - in the meeting.
The new EC will take charge after the tenure of the current one headed by Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad ends later this month.
It will organise the next parliamentary election scheduled to be held by January 2019.
For the post of the CEC, a judge or a bureaucrat, who has served as the Cabinet secretary, principal secretary or at the same-level, came up as preferences during the meetings between the president and political parties.
The search committee's preference, however, is a former secretary, between 60 and 70 years old.
CAG Ahmed said they would finalise ten credible and efficient individuals, who subscribe to the spirit of the Liberation War.
"We would recommend a former high-level government official as the chief election commissioner as during the polls he would have to handle the administration," he told bdnews24.com.
Another member of the panel, asking not to be named, said the list of 'impartial and credible individuals' will be finalised on Monday based on recommendations by eminent citizens.
Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told bdnew24.com that he thinks that someone, who had served as a secretary, will be recommended as the CEC.
"It would be tough to find someone from former CSP (Civil Service of Pakistan) officers aged between 60 and 70 years. So it can be said the new EC will comprise of those who joined services after Bangladesh's independence," he said.
The public servant hinted that the final list will include former bureaucrats, retired judges, military officers and police chiefs, as well as university professors
Outgoing CEC Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad was a CSP officer. Born in 1943, He joined the EC in 2012 at the age of 69.
His predecessor ATM Shamsul Huda was also public servant, who joined as the CEC at 64.
The first former bureaucrat to serve as the CEC was Mohammad Abu Hena, who was appointed when he was 59 years old.
Justices MA Aziz and Abdur Rouf became CEC at the age of 66 and 55 respectively.
The current EC consists of a member from the 1973 batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) while the others joined after that.
Those, who have information about the selection process, said the search panel's priority is those individuals, who were born after 1947 and retired from service after 2006.
A commissioner of the outgoing EC said, "The spotlight is usually on the CEC, but the members are important as well. Without efficient commissioners, it's hard to make the right call."
He told bdnews24.com, "The five-strong EC has to take a lot of important decisions other than holding polls. It's important for all members to be on the same page or else an important decision might not get the nod due to majority."
