BNP yesterday warned that the party and country’s people will not accept if a fresh ‘domestic’ Election Commission (EC) is constituted staging a drama in the name of a search committee, reports UNB. At a discussion in the city, it also suggested forming a search committee comprising politicians in consultation with political parties to constitute the new EC.
“We surely want an election under a fully neutral election-time administration and an independent Election Commission. But we won’t accept any election in the Awami League-style under a domestic Election Commission,” said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Addressing the government, he further said, “Form a search committee but remember if you constitute the search committee ignoring the public opinion, people won’t accept it.” BNP arranged the discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh marking the BNP chairperson’s ‘9th jail release day’.  The tenure of the current Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad-led Election Commission will expire in February next. Meanwhile, Law Minister Anisul Huq on September 15 hinted that a search committee will be formed to constitute the new Election Commission.
About the formation of the EC, BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said usually a search committee forms the EC, and it is the President who forms the search committee with recommendation from the Prime Minster.
He said the search committee will not be neutral if the President and the Prime Minister form the search committee. “How can we believe such a search committee will send neutral persons having guts to the Election Commission?”
Mentioning that there is no obligation in the constitution to include people of any specific profession in the search committee, the BNP leader said, “The search committee can be formed comprising politicians in consultation with all parties, mainly those who governed the country in the past.”
He said the search committee will name the five members of the Election Commission, and the president will approve it. “It can be a way to overcome the problem over forming the Election Commission.”
Otherwise, Gayeshwar said, if a Rakibuddin-type EC is formed, the 2019 election will be worse than 2014 one and people will be depraved of their voting rights.
Another BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury alleged that the government has started staging a fresh drama over the formation of a search committee. “People have been seeing the results of the search committee drama staged earlier (2012). Another committee is being formed to deceive people.” He urged people to remain aware of the government’s move in this regard.