Elections at major trade bodies have missed the 90-day deadline as new administrators of the business organisations seek amendments to the governing rules.

In this regard, they have sent letters to the commerce ministry wing responsible for overseeing trade and business chambers, requesting the amendments to ensure only genuine businesspeople can vote.

Following the political changeover in August last year, the interim government assumed office and appointed administrators to the trade bodies including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The administrators were supposed to hold elections within 90 days of their appointments.

Now the administrators come up with the request for amendments to the electoral processes of the trade bodies.

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For example, they propose that the president should be directly elected, that no president should serve more than two consecutive terms, and that the number of directors in the trade bodies should be reduced.

Under the current election rules in major trade bodies such as the FBCCI and BGMEA, the president is elected indirectly.

The winning panel in the election selects the president from among its directors.

Similarly, over the past several years, the number of directors in trade bodies like the FBCCI has been increased to secure positions for influential individuals.

The number of directors in the FBCCI has been increased several times.

The commerce ministry, through a statutory regulatory order, raised the number of nominated directors from 16 to 18 and elected directors from 28 to 30 for the 2012-14 term.

However, according to the FBCCI's articles of association, holding an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) is a must to increase the number of either elected or nominated directors.

Previously, the number of director positions was increased in 2010, when the number of nominated directors was raised from 14 to 16.

In the FBCCI election, both the elected and nominated directors enjoy equal power in the selection of the president and vice-presidents.

Since the formation of the apex trade body of the country in 1973, the general voters used to elect the president and vice-presidents through a direct voting system.

But in 2002, the FBCCI introduced a system where the president and vice-presidents are selected by the elected and nominated directors of the trade body.

The biennial FBCCI election held on 31 July 2023 was largely a formality, as a majority of the directors were nominated and elected unopposed.

Under the existing FBCCI rules, of the total 80 director positions, some 34 -- 17 from the chamber group and 17 from the association group -- are nominated, while the remaining 46 are elected, with 23 from each group.

In the last FBCCI election, 16 directors from the chamber group and the same number from the association group were nominated after two directors from each group were disqualified for various reasons.

Moreover, in the last FBCCI election, the chamber group election did not take place as four out of 27 valid candidates withdrew their candidacy for the 23 available positions, allowing the remaining contestants to be elected unopposed.

As a result, the election only took place in the association group to select 23 directors.

Consequently, the government-backed candidate panel won 55 of the 78 contested positions, and its candidate ultimately became president without major opposition.

The new administrators have also pointed out that the current voter lists of these trade bodies have many fictitious names, as many businesses have ceased operations, some business owners have left the country and others have retired from business altogether.

For instance, the total number of voters in the BGMEA surpassed 3,375, while the current number of active garment factories under this trade body is around 2,100, said Md Anwar Hossain, the BGMEA administrator appointed on 20 October last year.

Hossain urged BGMEA members to submit their documents by 31 January this year to help make a genuine voter list.

The BGMEA administrator also called a meeting of garment manufacturers and exporters on Saturday at the BGMEA office to discuss the overall situation in the garment sector and election-related issues with members.

He said that genuine businessmen will have to submit their tax return certificates, updated trade licences and a few other documents to qualify as eligible voters for the election.

Regarding the elections within the 90-day timeframe, Hossain said that he would proceed with the election schedule as soon as the commerce ministry approves the necessary amendments.

"These amendments are vital for a genuine voter list, so the 90-day provision does not matter a lot in this case," he added.

In the last BGMEA election held on 9 March last year, a panel leader of the Forum panel demanded that the election board cancel the preliminary voter list and publish a new one, as the tax files of 429 voters could not be found.

FBCCI Administrator Md Hafizur Rahman, who was appointed on 11 September last year under Section 17 of the Trade Organisations Act, 2022, said that his tenure has been extended for an additional 120 days to facilitate the holding of an election.

He also mentioned that a meeting on the amendment of trade organisation rules was scheduled to be held at the ministry but was later cancelled due to a fire incident at the Secretariat.

He said that although the total number of voters in the FBCCI is now 2,700, the number of real voters might be around 2500.

Similar to BGMEA, he also called the voters to submit their updated trade licences and tax certificates to be eligible voters.

Acting Commerce Secretary Md Abdur Rahim Khan said the amendment of the trade organisation is a long-overdue issue and it is expected that it would be raised at the advisory council meeting soon for approval.

"It will be done in due process," Khan told The Daily Star over the phone. "And elections will take place after the amendment."