Khaleda demands EC formed on consensus [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Khaleda demands EC formed on consensus

Local November 19, 2016

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia on Friday unveiled the party’s proposals for forming new Election Commission based on consensus among registered political parties through a five-member search committee of consensus.
The proposals placed at programme at Westin hotel in Dhaka also suggested strengthening the commission amending the Representation of the People Order 1972 and setting up a full-fledged secretariat of the commission with financial autonomy.
Khaleda, also former prime minister, elaborated the proposals for ensuring free, fair and credible elections.
Leaders of BNP and its allies, people of different professions, foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka and journalists were present at the programme.
The proposals suggested forming a five-member search committee with a retired chief justice, as its convener, and a retired judge of the Appellate Division, a retired secretary, an educationist or a widely respected
eminent citizen and a widely respected senior woman, as its members.
People who had ever held any office of profit in the service of the republic, a retired cabinet secretary or a retired secretary who had worked at the Prime Minister’s Office would not be eligible to be a member of the committee.
According to the proposals, the president would form the search committee based on consensus among the political parties who would recommend two people for each of the posts on the committee in writing to the president.
The president would hold meetings with the general secretaries or a representative of the parties for reaching a consensus, the proposals said.
For the two major alliances, the Awami League-led alliance and the BNP-led alliance, the president would hold the meetings with a representative of the leading party of the alliance along with two others from other parties.
The president may involve qualified and impartial representatives of the civil society as well, said the proposals.
The president’s office would publish ‘agreed minutes of the meetings’ and ‘unanimous decisions’.
A former head of any constitutional body, a non-partisan retired secretary or an eminent citizen would be eligible to be the chief election commissioner, said the proposals.
People who ever held any office of profit in the service of the republic, a retired cabinet secretary or a retired secretary who worked at the Prime Minister’s Office would not be eligible to be the chief election commissioner.
Khaleda proposed that four people, including a woman, could be appointed as election commissioners from retired civil, military and judicial officers and civil society.
Each party will recommend two names for each post in the commission to the president.
The president will send the recommended names to the search committee for choosing two people for each post in the commission.
The President will make the final appointment to the commission, said the proposals.
The president will make public their resume and wealth information.
Khaleda proposed five amendments to the 1972 order including reinstitution of the Defence Services of Bangladesh as law enforcing agency.
The proposed amendments include making provisions for keeping empty ballot boxes within the sight of the contesting candidates or election agents or polling agents, keeping the used ballot boxes within the sight of the concerned election officials and election agents or polling agents and opening only the used ballot boxes counting the entire lot of ballot taking out therefrom.
The proposed amendment also suggested prohibition of the presiding officer from leaving the polling centre without giving the copy of signed result sheet to the
election agents or polling agents.
According to the proposals, the news commission would identify officers and staff members of the commission secretariat and its field officers who had violated the law and election rules and regulations during the national elections held in 2008 and 2014 and in subsequent local government elections and would restrain them from any kind of election duty.
The commission would form a committee to identify the officers who had worked on deputation at field level and who were manifestly partisan during the national elections held in 2008 and 2014 and in subsequent local body polls and would restrain them from election duty in future.
Relevant ministries such as home, finance, information, public administration, local government, education, primary and mass education, foreign affairs and health and family welfare would act as per requirement of the commission during elections, the proposals said.
During election period, transfer and posting of all the field-level election related officials shall be under exclusive jurisdiction of the commission.
The commission will deploy defence forces with magisterial power during elections, said the
proposals.