Prothom Alo
Former chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda on Saturday said there are lacking in the draft law being formulated to constitute the election commission.
The proposed law has to be amended to a great extent, he added.
ATM Shamsul Huda made the remark in a debate on ‘formation of acceptable election commission depends on the willingness of the political parties’.
Debate for Democracy organised this shadow parliamentary debate at the Film Development Corporation in the capital on Saturday.
The election commission bill is scheduled to be placed in the parliament on Sunday.
On 17 January, the cabinet approved the draft of the ‘Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner Appointment Act, 2022’.
About the proposed law, ATM Shamsul Huda said, “There was lacking of confidence. It was necessary to scrutinise the law further. There was no necessity to be hurried. Going through this draft law, it seems it is a draft of the search committee.”
Criticising the proposed law, the former chief election commissioner said, “Honest and clean image persons should be recruited in the election commission. As per the proposed law, if an allegation is levelled against anybody and he or she is acquitted of that, there is no bar to recruit the person. It does not seem good to me.”
Replying to newsmen, Shamsul Huda said it is necessary to take the opinion of the people over the proposed law.
He said many constitutional bodies have been destroyed in 50 years and those have to be built.
Fifty years have been passed since the liberation, but none of the political organisations wants that a good election commission is established.
Debate for Democracy chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury presided over the event.
Bangladesh University of Business and Technology joined on behalf of the government while World University of Bangladesh represented the opposition as debaters.
