Staff Correspondent

The government is going to form a search committee headed by Justice Zubair Rahman Chowdhury, a senior judge of the Appellate Division, to constitute the Election Commission (EC).

The Cabinet Division will issue a notification in this regard soon, said relevant sources.

Meanwhile, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul on Tuesday said the interim government has started the journey towards election with the formation of the EC search committee. The voter list will be updated after the EC is formed.

According to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment Act 2022, the President will constitute a six-member search committee to recommend the names of qualified persons for appointment to the vacant posts of the EC.

An Appellate Division judge and a High Court Division judge nominated by the chief justice will be the chairperson and a member, respectively, of the committee, as per the law.

Besides, the auditor general and comptroller and chairman of Bangladesh Public Service Commission will be members of the committee. Apart from these, two prominent citizens – one of whom should be a woman – nominated by the President will also be its members.

The Election Commission, led by Kazi Habibul Awal, resigned on 5 September, one month after the fascist Awami League government fell in the face of a mass movement. The 12th parliamentary elections were held under that commission.

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, has embarked on reforms in various areas of the state. As a part of that initiative, a commission has been formed to reform the Election Commission.

“We’ve started the election-oriented process. You can say that the journey towards the election has begun, because the search committee to form the Election Commission has been formed. As far as I know, you’ll learn about that notification immediately after it’s signed by our Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. Maybe he has signed it already, you’ll know about it today or tomorrow (Tuesday, Wednesday),” Law Adviser Asif Nazrul told reporters after a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk at the secretariat on Tuesday.

“There were a lot of questions about the voter list. The last election was a fake election. People were not worried about the voter list. This time we’ll have an extraordinarily free and impartial election. The voter list should be updated,” he said.

Regarding the meeting with the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, the law adviser said, “If we need forensic assistance in institutional reform, they’ll provide it. We’re here for justice, not for revenge. We won’t do injustice as it happened in the previous court. We have nothing to hide. Anyone can come and see how we’re running trials.”

Asked about Awami League’s participation in politics in future, Asif Nazrul said the people will consider whether the party should have political rights even after committing genocide.

“Just consider that after committing a massacre, the party is still trying to create confusion. Every man will consider whether the party that has termed the leaders of our great movement juvenile gangs and threatened to kill more people should have political rights. What can be decided about them will be seen after the trial is over,” he said.