Speakers at a policy dialogue on Saturday said that the country needed a suitable law, aiming not only to appoint next election commissioners but also to institutionalise their appointments so that the citizens could see a new election commission capable to conduct credible elections.
As the existing 鈥楥hief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment Act 2022鈥� did not ensure appointments of credible ECs, Bangladesh needed to rewrite the law or formulate a new one to make the commission more efficient and credible in conducting neutral and participatory elections, they said.聽聽
Democracy International organised the policy dialogue on 鈥楢ppointment of chief election commissioner and election commissioners in Bangladesh鈥� at a city hotel with distinguished fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue professor Rounaq Jahan in chair while Dana L Olds of Democracy International gave welcome speech.
Adviser for textile and jute and shipping ministries brigadier general (retired) Sakhawat Hussain attended the dialogue as chief guest.聽聽聽
He said that if appointments of ECs were made under an interim or caretaker administration, it would be more transparent, neutral and acceptable.
Principal director of Democracy International Md Abdul Alim gave policy brief presentation on the topic.
Other speakers said that search committee for appointments of CEC and other ECs should be formed with neutral non-partisan professionals from both public sector and civil society.
Such search committee must be independent and free from any kind of influence, they added.
They appreciated the interim government for its electoral system reform initiatives.
The speakers put emphasis on appointing credible, qualified, experienced and neutral individuals as CEC and other ECs.
If the appointments of CEC and other ECs were not made in a credible and transparent manner, the commissioners could not perform responsibilities independently, which resulted in unfair, unreliable and unacceptable elections, they added.
They said that there were many examples in the world of independent-ECs that failed to conduct credible elections due to recruitment of people as CEC and ECs who lacked integrity and required experiences.
Electoral Reform Commission chief Badiul Alam Majumdar, presidium member of Jatiya Party Shamim Haider Patwary, BNP鈥檚 assistant international affairs secretary Rumeen Farhana, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolan Zonayed Saki, professor Zarina Khan of Dhaka University鈥檚 public administration department, Gono Odhikar Parishad president Nurul Haq Nur, Nationalist Democratic Movement chairman Bobby Hajjaj, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami publicity affairs secretary Matiur Rahman Akanda and leader of anti-discrimination student movement Ariful Islam Adib, among others, took part in the dialogue.聽聽聽聽
