The interim government council of advisers on Thursday approved a proposal to amend the Election Commission Secretariat Act, 2009, introducing two major changes — the creation of a new Election Commission Service and a the preparation and preservation of the National Identity Card database under the Election Commission.
The amendment proposals were approved at the weekly council meeting with chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair.
According to the proposed amendments, sub-section (4) of section 3 of the act will be replaced with the following sentence: ‘There shall be a service called the Election Commission Service for the appointment of officers of the Election Commission Secretariat.’
Earlier, section 4 read: ‘The Election Commission Secretariat shall consist of a Secretary appointed in the manner prescribed by rules, and such other officers and employees.’
In addition, amendments have been proposed to sub-section (2) of section 4, clause (a), which outlined the duties of the Election Commission Secretariat, inserting a provision regarding the preparation and preservation of the NID card database.
Following the council meeting, the chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam, at a briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, said that the amendment proposals were approved with the aim of strengthening the Election Commission’s independence and responsibilities.
Earlier, the interim government and the Election Commission had been at odds over the responsibilities for the NID service, as the government was moving forward with plans to transfer the service to an independent institution, removing it from the jurisdiction of the commission.
As part of this initiative, officials had said, the government had approved in principle the draft National Identity Registration (Repeal) Ordinance, 2025 and initiated the formation of a separate body, namely the Civil Registration Commission, to take over the responsibilities for the national identity registration and the issuance of national identity cards from the Election Commission.
EC officials protested at the move, opposing the government’s plan to enact a law that would bring a number of civic services, including birth registration and national identity registration, under a single entity named the Civil Registration Commission.
They staged sit-ins demanding that national identity services remain under the commission’s control and even issued an ultimatum threatening tougher programmes.
During the Awami League regime, an initiative had been taken to bring the NID service under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Identity Registration Act was enacted in 2023.
Following the ouster of the AL regime amid a mass uprising on August 5, 2024, that act was repealed.
The chief adviser’s press said that the council of advisers on Thursday had also approved a proposal to amend the Election Officers (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, with changes to three of its eight sections.
According to the draft proposal, the definition of ‘election officer’ and ‘appointing authority’ under section 2 will be replaced.
Sub-sections (1) to (4) of section 5, relating to disciplinary actions against election officers, will also be replaced with three new sub-sections — (5), (6) and (7).
In addition, section 6, dealing with penalties, will be substituted, the press secretary said.
According to the amendment, if a person is appointed as an election officer, they cannot refuse to perform their duties without a valid reason.
Under the existing law, the refusal to perform duties carries a penalty of one-year imprisonment, or a fine of up to 5,000 taka, or both. Now, the amount of the fine has been increased to Tk one lakh.
If an officer commits misconduct in electoral duties, the existing law prescribes a penalty of six-month imprisonment, or a fine of 2,000 taka, or both.
Under the new provisions, the penalty will be a minimum of one-year to a maximum of five-year imprisonment, or a fine of up to Tk 20,000, or both.
