Dhaka-17 lawmaker Mohammad Ali Arafat welcomed Election Commission’s (EC) move of transferring government officials ahead of election.
He posted in his X handle, previously known as Twitter, amid ongoing discussion on transferring Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) and Officers-in-Charge (OCs) of police stations.
In his tweet, he wrote: “Following the instructions of the Election Commission to transfer all executive officers at the lowest tier of the administration (UNOs) and Police Station Officers (OCs) ahead of the national parliamentary election on January 7, the authorities have made a preliminary list of those who will be transferred in the first phase.”
He welcomed this initiative of the Election Commission in an effort to create a level playing field at the grassroots.
A list of 207 UNOs and 326 OCs has been prepared by district officials for the first phase of transfer, according to sources.
According to the EC, UNOs who have worked at an upazila for more than a year will be relocated to other districts, and OCs who have worked at a police station for more than six months will be transferred to a different constituency.
The EC already has approved proposal of the Ministry of Public Administration to transfer 47 UNOs across the country on Monday.
Surprisingly, on November 30, the EC directed two senior secretaries of the home ministry and public administration ministry to move all 495 UNOs and 636 OCs across the country in phases in order to guarantee a free and fair national election. The decision was taken to avoid any kind of ‘sympathy’ for any candidate in a place where they have been giving service for long.
