EC Formation: Workers Party proposes constitutional council

The Workers Party of Bangladesh urged President Abdul Hamid to form a constitutional council that will propose names for the posts of chief election commissioner and election commissioners.  

The council would be comprised of the prime minister, opposition leader, Speaker, chief justice, and attorney general. The president will appoint the chief election commissioner and his deputies from the names suggested by the council.

A law is to be enacted in this regard.  

An ally of the ruling Awami League-led alliance, Workers Party made the proposal as its 10-member delegation led by party President Rashed Khan Menon met the president at Bangabhaban yesterday to discuss the formation of the next Election Commission.

Hamid said mutual trust and confidence is very important in democracy and that all political parties should participate in elections with “sportsman spirit”.

Menon told The Daily Star that the formation of constitutional council is possible under the Election Commission law.

"If it is not possible by law, the government should amend the constitution. I don't see any problem.” 

The party requested Hamid to promulgate an ordinance or convene parliament session on emergency basis to enact the law, saying it would take a maximum of 15-30 days. 

As an alternative to constitutional council, a search committee comprising heads of the constitutional bodies, including the chief justice, chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission, comptroller and auditor general and attorney general, can recommend three people against each post of election commission. 

They will then be short-listed by the Business Advisory Committee before the president makes the appointments.

Hamid said there were similarities in the proposals put forward by different political parties during their dialogues with him.

Workers Party proposed five-member election commission with two of them women.

To this, the president assured it of appointing at least one woman since other parties also demanded appointment of women. 

Workers Party also demanded that people accused and convicted of war crimes and/or involved in any communal organisation be banned from taking part in any election.

The law should ban “money game”, criminal and communal activities and direct and indirect interference of the administration in elections. The BNP and other political parties' proposal to include defence forces in the definition of law enforcing agencies in election-related law is not acceptable by any means, the delegation said. 

Emerging from the meeting, Menon thanked Hamid for holding talks with political parties.

"I think the president's initiative will be a successful one.” 

The president assured Workers Party of considering its proposal.

"I will consider your proposal, but you will also have to think how much I can do," party member Anisur Rahman Mollick quoted Hamid as saying.

The tenure of the EC led by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad will expire in February next year. 

The president's office began the dialogues on December 18 on formation of the next EC. Hamid already sat with the BNP, Jatiya Party, LDP, Krishok Sromik Janata League and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal.

According to the schedule, he will hold talks with Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF) and Islami Oikya Jote tomorrow.