The government on Thursday formed a six-member search committee led by Appellate Division judge Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury to recommend people for the offices of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners.
The Cabinet Division issued a gazette notification to this effect in keeping with the Section 3 of 鈥楾he 鈥楥hief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners Appointment Act, 2022鈥�.
The search committee will have to recommend names for the posts of CEC and other commissioners within 15 working days as per the law.
The other members of the search committee include High Court judge Justice AKM Asaduzzaman, former Dhaka University professor Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar and former Public Service Commission chair Zinnatunnesa Tahmida Begum.
The rest two members of the search committee are the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh and the Public Service Commission chairman as stipulated in the law.
According to the law, the search committee will recommend two people for each of the offices of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners and the president will give the appointments from amongst the listed persons.
The Election Commission became vacant since Kazi Habibul Awal as the chief election commissioner, along with Ahsan Habib Khan, Rashida Sultana, Md Alamgir, and Anisur Rahman as election commissioners, submitted their resignations to the president on September 5.
Their resignation followed the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5 amid a mass uprising led by students.
The president dissolved the 12th parliament on August 6, which had been elected in a one-sided January 7 election administered by the Awal-led Election Commission.
As per the Article 118 (1) of the Constitution, there shall be an Election Commission for Bangladesh [consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner and not more than four Election Commissioners] and the appointment of the CEC and other ECs shall, subject to the provisions of any law made on that behalf, be made by the president.
