Eminent citizens have asked the search committee for the new Election Commission (EC) to disclose the names of the ten shortlisted candidates to the public.
The call was made during meetings between them and the committee, appointed by the president, on Saturday.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneSeveral other demands were also placed at the meeting, including upholding the spirit of the Liberation War, not appointing anyone who has enjoyed special privileges from the government, representing professions of different levels, and making sure minorities are properly considered.
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The search committee has so far received a total of 329 names for the positions of chief election commissioner and election commissioners.
“The number of female participants must be increased in the EC committee. Why is there only one place for a female? In fact, a woman can be considered for chief election commissioner too. The committee needs to be balanced,” said Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (Fema) President Munira Khan.
ASM Maksud Kamal, pro vice chancellor of Dhaka University, said the EC may be more inclusive after the enactment of the EC law.
Previously, there was no plan to create an autonomous institution that was inclusive of civil society. "Now the path is open and the government needs to ensure a strong, diversified EC if it wants the trust of citizens," he said.
The first meeting, which started at 11:15 am, was attended by most of the invitees.
The invited participants included former attorneys general AFM Hasan Arif and Fida M Kamal, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Yusuf Hossain Humayun, senior lawyers Mansurul Haque Chowdhury, Rokanuddin Mahmud, and Shahdeen Malik, former additional attorney general MK Rahman, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder, Dhaka University Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Maksud Kamal, Prof Borhan Uddin Khan and Prof Asif Nazrul of DU's Law Department, President of the Asiatic Society Mahfuza Khanam, CEO of non-governmental organization Brotee Sharmeen Murshid and President of the Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (Fema) Munira Khan.
AJ Mohammad Ali, AAMS Arefin Siddiqui, FBCCI President Jasim Uddin, BMA President Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam of the DU English Department and Dr Kamal Hossain were absent.
Prof Asif Nazrul said: “Those who have taken a direct stand for or against various political parties even after retirement should not come to the EC in any way.
“Those who are chosen should have the mentality and courage to make fair choices. I have proposed some names too. They should disclose these names on a website,” said Nazrul.
The search committee sat down with another group of eminent citizens at 1pm.
Golam Rahman, editor of the Bangla daily Ajker Patrika, Zafrullah Chowdhury of Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Abed Khan, editor of daily Jagaran, Saiful Alam, editor of Jugantar, Shyamal Dutta, editor of Bhorer Kagoj, AK Azad, managing director of Channel 24, Farida Yasmin, president of the Jatiya Press Club, Mozammel Babu of Ekattor Television, Tasmima Hossain, acting editor of daily Ittefaq, Zahirul Alam, news editor of NTV and journalist Swadesh Roy attended the meeting.
Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury said: “I previously proposed five names to the inquiry committee, including Brig Gen Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana Kamal, Badiul Alam Mazumder, former justice Nazmun Ara and retired army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan. At [Saturday’s] meeting, I proposed another three names
“I’ve seen many political parties, including the BNP, boycotting the process. I’d like to say their movement for the fall of the government and participation in forming an unbiased EC are completely different issues.”
The search committee was set to hold discussions with a total of 60 distinguished citizens, including lawyers, teachers, bureaucrats, doctors, researchers and election monitoring organizations.
Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam on Saturday said: “The political parties proposed 136 names, professionals recommended 40 while individuals proposed 34 names and suggestions of another 99 people came through emails.”
Speaking to the media after two rounds of meetings between the panel and eminent citizens at the Supreme Court judges’ lounge, he said the panel would now sort out the names.
The last meeting will be held on Sunday.
President Abdul Hamid formed the search committee, headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, in line with the new law on the formation of the Election Commission in early February.
