Editorial
New election commission felicitated
The main opposition's rejectionist attitude somewhat inexplicable
We congratulate Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad on his appointment as the chief election commissioner (CEC). On top of being a freedom fighter, his record as a bureaucrat is impeccable and he is a man of good repute and probity. We also felicitate the newly appointed election commissioners (EC) Mohammad Abu Hafiz, Mohammad Abdul Mobarrak, Brig Gen (retd) Mohammad Zabed Ali and Mohammad Shahnewaz.
But this we have to do with a little bit of sympathy because the main opposition BNP rejected Rakibuddin's appointment outright even before his assumption of office. Without allowing him to show his mettle, the BNP has questioned the new appointment process, terming it unconstitutional.
Normally, the president appoints the CEC and the ECs on the advice of the prime minister. In this case, however, the president engaged almost all political parties in a dialogue and then constituted a search committee to suggest names from which the president would choose new incumbents to the posts. Although the BNP along with all other parties were requested to propose names to the committee, it made it a point to refrain from doing it. The whole process therefore does not appear to be unconstitutional. Quite the contrary, it represents a step forward from what had been in the past direct appointment of the incumbents on the advice of the PM both during the BNP and AL governments. BNP must remember how arbitrarily it appointed CEC and EC members when it had the chance.
The BNP finds fault with the process on the question of restoring the neutral character of the government prior to taking up the issue of EC formation. A political point can justifiably be made here. A clearer picture about the nature of the government that will be in power during the election is a very justified question. However, we do not agree that the new EC and CEC should be rejected by BNP just because that issue has not been resolved.
As we find the EC's reconstitution compatible with the constitution, we are frankly confused about the stance BNP is taking. We will rather expect it to help the new commission perform its tasks without prejudging them while they can continue their agitation for a neutral government during election.
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