Former bureaucrat KM Nurul Huda was appointed as the next chief election commissioner on Monday.
The president, Abdul Hamid, also appointed former bureaucrats Mahbub Talukder and M Rafiqul Islam, former district judge Kabita Khanam and retired brigadier general Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury as election commissioners.
Cabinet secretary Shafiul Alam made the announcement at the Cabinet Division in the evening.
Earlier in the evening, the search committee for the Election Commission reconstitution saw the president and proposed 10 names to him for the 12th commission.
The committee members went to Bangabhaban at around 6:30pm and discussed with the president for about 45 minutes.
According to the cabinet secretary, the committee named former bureaucrat Ali Imam Majumder for the chief election commissioner and Dhaka University public administration professor Zarina Rahman Khan, local government expert Tofail Ahmed, former planning commission member M Abdul Mannan and Jatiya Nirbachan Parjabekkhan Parishad chairman Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah for election commissioners.
The search committee, headed by Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, finalised the list at its meeting at the Supreme Court Judges Lounge in the evening.
At a briefing at the Cabinet Division, the cabinet secretary said, ‘The names were picked from the lists of 28 political parties who had proposed 128 names,’ he said.
He said that the name of commissioner Mahbub Talukder was proposed by Bangladesh Nationalist Party while Kabita Khanam was named by the ruling Awami League.
He, however, failed to confirm which party had proposed the name of Nurul Huda.
Nurul Huda was appointed in the Bangladesh Civil Service as an administrative cadre officer in 1973.
‘He [Nurul Huda] was a freedom fighter and he retired in 2006 before getting charge of any ministry and later he, along with some other officers, was given the status of a secretary following a Supreme Court order,’ the cabinet secretary said.
The five-year tenure of the outgoing chief election commissioner and three other election commissioners would expire on Wednesday while the tenure of the rest election commissioner would expire on February 14.
The outgoing chief and other commissioners also were appointed through a search committee, which was also led by Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, in February 2012.
On January 31, 2017, the committee shortlisted 20 names from 128 names proposed by 28 political parties including the ruling Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
The search committee on January 28 urged 31 political parties, who had talks with the president on the reconstitution of the commission, to propose five names each for the commission by January 31.
The committee on January 30 also exchanged views with eminent citizens who suggested the search committee that it should take initiative to make public its recommendations with reasons.
On January 25, president Abdul Hamid formed the six-member search committee asking it to recommend two names against each positions in the commission — the chief election commissioner and four election commissioners — in 10 working days.
The president held talks with 31 of the 40 registered political parties on the reconstitution of the commission between December 18, 2016 and January 18, 2017.
The president had initiated his talks with the registered political parties after BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on November 18, 2016 placed a set of proposals for the reconstitution of the commission based on consensus among the registered political parties through a search committee formed on the basis of consensus.
The president, Abdul Hamid, also appointed former bureaucrats Mahbub Talukder and M Rafiqul Islam, former district judge Kabita Khanam and retired brigadier general Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury as election commissioners.
Cabinet secretary Shafiul Alam made the announcement at the Cabinet Division in the evening.
Earlier in the evening, the search committee for the Election Commission reconstitution saw the president and proposed 10 names to him for the 12th commission.
The committee members went to Bangabhaban at around 6:30pm and discussed with the president for about 45 minutes.
According to the cabinet secretary, the committee named former bureaucrat Ali Imam Majumder for the chief election commissioner and Dhaka University public administration professor Zarina Rahman Khan, local government expert Tofail Ahmed, former planning commission member M Abdul Mannan and Jatiya Nirbachan Parjabekkhan Parishad chairman Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah for election commissioners.
The search committee, headed by Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, finalised the list at its meeting at the Supreme Court Judges Lounge in the evening.
At a briefing at the Cabinet Division, the cabinet secretary said, ‘The names were picked from the lists of 28 political parties who had proposed 128 names,’ he said.
He said that the name of commissioner Mahbub Talukder was proposed by Bangladesh Nationalist Party while Kabita Khanam was named by the ruling Awami League.
He, however, failed to confirm which party had proposed the name of Nurul Huda.
Nurul Huda was appointed in the Bangladesh Civil Service as an administrative cadre officer in 1973.
‘He [Nurul Huda] was a freedom fighter and he retired in 2006 before getting charge of any ministry and later he, along with some other officers, was given the status of a secretary following a Supreme Court order,’ the cabinet secretary said.
The five-year tenure of the outgoing chief election commissioner and three other election commissioners would expire on Wednesday while the tenure of the rest election commissioner would expire on February 14.
The outgoing chief and other commissioners also were appointed through a search committee, which was also led by Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, in February 2012.
On January 31, 2017, the committee shortlisted 20 names from 128 names proposed by 28 political parties including the ruling Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
The search committee on January 28 urged 31 political parties, who had talks with the president on the reconstitution of the commission, to propose five names each for the commission by January 31.
The committee on January 30 also exchanged views with eminent citizens who suggested the search committee that it should take initiative to make public its recommendations with reasons.
On January 25, president Abdul Hamid formed the six-member search committee asking it to recommend two names against each positions in the commission — the chief election commissioner and four election commissioners — in 10 working days.
The president held talks with 31 of the 40 registered political parties on the reconstitution of the commission between December 18, 2016 and January 18, 2017.
The president had initiated his talks with the registered political parties after BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on November 18, 2016 placed a set of proposals for the reconstitution of the commission based on consensus among the registered political parties through a search committee formed on the basis of consensus.
Source: New Age
