Parties asked to turn in 5 names

The search committee formed to recommend persons for appointment as election commissioners yesterday urged all the political parties, which had talks with the president on the issue, to recommend five persons each by January 29.
The committee at its first meeting yesterday also urged the parties to send the names with short bio-data to the cabinet secretary who had been assigned to provide assistance to the committee, the first of its kind in the history of Bangladesh.
Ruling Awami League (AL) said it will decide on its recommendations after consulting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who is also the party president, while main opposition BNP said it wants restoration of the caretaker government system before formation of a new Election Commission (EC).
The committee meeting was held, two days after its formation on Sunday, in the conference room of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by its Chairman Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain of the Appellate Division.
Two other members of the committee, High Court Division Justice Mohammad Nuruzzaman and Public Service Commission Chairman ATM Ahmedul Haque Chowdhury, were also present. Another member, Comptroller and Auditor General Ahmed Ataul Hakeem, is currently abroad.
The committee, which had been asked to place its recommendations to the president within 10 working days since its formation, finalised a module to collect the names of recommended persons.
"As the time is very short, we won't send any letter to the parties. Rather we are urging the parties through the media that they send the names immediately," Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told The Daily Star after the meeting.
The search committee will recommend two names for each post in the EC based on the majority votes in the committee. In case of a tie, the committee chief will cast the deciding vote. The tenure of the present EC will expire in mid-February.
The president held dialogues with 24 political parties from December 22 last year to January 12 this year seeking their opinions about reconstitution of the EC. Many political parties proposed constituting a search committee to form the new EC while some others including BNP demanded restoration of the caretaker government system first. After the dialogues BNP rejected the search committee.
A handout from the Press Information Department said the cabinet secretary and the SC registrar were also requested to provide lists of all retired cabinet and principal secretaries, and retired district judges.
Yesterday's meeting also decided that the search committee members individually will recommend eligible persons of their choice as well, said the handout.
If each political party sends names of five persons, that will be 120 names, and the cabinet secretary, SC registrar, and the committee members will recommend some more names. From the recommended persons a maximum of four will be made election commissioners and one chief election commissioner.
Ruling AL will sit shortly to discuss the matter.
"We will first sit with the party president also prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and then decide on the matter," AL Presidium Member and Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury told The Daily Star yesterday.
BNP Standing Committee Member MK Anwar said if they receive any formal letter from the committee they will give a reply.
He however said the issue of the caretaker government system must be resolved first, otherwise the EC will not be able to work independently under a political government.
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said they will send their recommendations after consulting the matter in the party.