Poll journey starts as search committee for Election Commission formed: Adviser Asif Nazrul
"The process for our government to gear up for the election has begun. You could say that the journey towards the election has started," said the law affairs adviser
A search committee has been established to form the Election Commission, marking the start of the election process under the interim government, Law Affairs Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul has said.
Official notification will be issued once the recommendation submitted to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is signed, which is expected within a day or two, he told journalists after a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk at the Secretariat on Tuesday (29 October).
"I can tell you one thing — the process for our government to gear up for the election has begun. You could say that the journey towards the election has started," said Asif Nazrul.
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"This is because the search committee required to form the Election Commission has already been established. As far as I know, you will know once our Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus signs the proclamation," he added.
Furthermore, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed nominated Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury of the Appellate Division as the head of a six-member search committee to recommend names of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other commissioners.
High Court Division Justice AKM Asaduzzaman has also been nominated as a member of the committee, sources said.
No gazette notification had been issued regarding the matter as of 10pm.
The search committee is formed under the "Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment Act, 2022."
According to Clause 3.1, the President will form a six-member search committee to recommend suitable candidates for the vacant positions of chief election commissioner and other election commissioners.
The committee will include a judge of the Appellate Division, nominated by the Chief Justice, who will also serve as the committee chair, a judge of the High Court Division nominated by the Chief Justice, the comptroller and auditor General of Bangladesh, the chairman of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission, and two eminent citizens, one of whom must be a woman.
The committee is required to present its recommendations to the President within 15 working days of its formation.
Responsibilities and functions
According to Clause 4 of the law, the search committee will operate based on principles of transparency and impartiality and will recommend candidates for the positions of chief election commissioner and other election commissioners to the President, taking into account the qualifications, disqualifications, integrity, and reputation outlined in the law.
The committee will seek qualified individuals as described in the law for the purpose of appointing them. To do this, it may solicit names from political parties and professional organisations.
For each vacant position of chief election commissioner and other election commissioners, the committee will recommend two candidates to the President.
What earlier search committees did
The practice of forming a search committee to appoint election commissioners began in 2012. Initially, there was no law governing this process, and the President created the committee.
In 2012, the then President Zillur Rahman established a mediation forum called the search committee to form a new Election Commission. He formed a four-member search committee, which recommended the formation of the Kazi Rakibuddin Commission.
In 2017, President Abdul Hamid formed a second search committee using the same process, which consisted of six members and recommended the Nurul Huda Commission. The term of the Nurul Huda Commission ended in February 2022.
Preparations for the next (13th) Election Commission began in 2021. From 20 December 2021 to 17 January 2022, President Abdul Hamid engaged in dialogues with various political parties regarding the matter.
Many parties, including the BNP, boycotted the dialogue. Most of the participating political parties proposed enacting a law to form the Election Commission.
Ultimately, on 27 January 2022, the National Parliament passed the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment Act, 2022.
In accordance with this law, the President formed a six-member search committee on 5 February to establish the Election Commission. Based on their recommendations, the Abdul Awal Commission was formed on 26 February 2022.
