The ruling party Awami League (AL) has proposed 10 names for the posts of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and other commissioners, to the search committee, in the next Election Commission.
AL Information and Research Secretary Dr Selim Mahmud submitted the list of names to the Cabinet Division Friday.
Also, five other political parties, including the Jatiya Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, already sent their recommended names to the division.
Earlier, the six-member search committee, tasked with suggesting names for the formation of the next Election Commission, called upon the registered political parties to send nominations for the posts CEC and other election commissioners (ECs).
President Abdul Hamid formed the committee, headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, in line with the new law on forming the Election Commission.
The “Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners Act 2022” was published in an extraordinary gazette by the National Parliament.
The search committee would take decisions on majority votes, and in the case of equal votes, the meeting’s chair would have the authority to cast the second or deciding vote as per the law.
The committee can seek names from political parties and professional organisations for the posts of CEC and ECs. It will recommend two names against each vacant post before the president.
The Cabinet Division will provide secretarial assistance to the committee.
On January 27 last, the parliament passed the Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners Bill 2022 to have a law under the Article 118 (1) of the Constitution. The president assented to the bill on January 29.
The government framed the law as the incumbent Election Commission, headed by KM Nurul Huda, is set to fulfil its five-year tenure in mid-February.
In absence of this law, the president appointed the CEC and commissioners in the past.
The last two election commissions, headed by Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad and KM Nurul Huda, were constituted in 2012 and 2017 through search committees formed by the president following dialogues with political parties.
Source: United News of Bangladesh