The gazette on the Election Commission formation law has been published fixing three eligibility and six ineligibility criteria for the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
The ‘Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners Act, 2022’ was published in an extraordinary gazette by the National Parliament of Bangladesh on Saturday with immediate effect.
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Three eligibility criteria are:
According to the law, there must be three qualifications for CEC and Election Commissioners and those are: They must be Bangladeshi citizens; minimum 50 years of age; and have at least 20 years of work experience in important government, judicial, semi-government, private or autonomous posts or professions.
Six ineligibility criteria are:
if a person is declared insane by any appropriate court; has not been released from the liabilities after being declared as ' bankruptcy '; acquires the citizenship of or affirms the allegiance to a foreign country; has been sentenced imprisonment being convicted for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude; convicted under International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 or Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) Order, 1972 ; and is disqualified for holding such posts by or under any law , he or she would not be eligible for the post of CEC and election commissioners.
Search Committee
As per the law, the President shall form a six-member search committee to recommend the names of qualified persons against the vacant posts of CEC and Election Commissioners.
An Appellate Division justice, nominated by the Chief Justice, will be the head of the search committee. The five other members will be a justice of the High Court Division, nominated by the Chief Justice; the Comptroller and Auditor General; the Chairman of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission; two other eminent personalities including one woman nominated by the President.
The search committee would take decisions on majority votes and in the case of equal votes, the meeting’s chair would have the authority to cast the second or deciding vote as per the law.
The committee can seek names from political parties and professional organisations for the posts of CEC and election commissioners.
The search committee will recommend two names against each vacant post before the President.
The Cabinet Division will provide secretariat assistance to the Search Committee.
Read: Report on EC formation Bill placed in parliament
Background
On January 27 last, Parliament passed the Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners Bill, 2022 in order to have a law under the Article 118 (1) of the Constitution. The President assented to the bill on January 29.
The government framed the law as the incumbent Election Commission, headed by KM Nurul Huda, is set to fulfil its five-year tenure in mid-February.
In absence of this law, the President appointed the CEC and commissioners in the past.
The last two election commissions, headed by Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad and KM Nurul Huda, were constituted in 2012 and 2017 through search committees formed by the President following dialogues with political parties.