The members of the search committee are attending their second meeting to nominate candidates for the next Election Commission.
Headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, the meeting started at the Supreme Court’s Judges’ Lounge around 4:30 pm on Tuesday.
The other members of the EC search committee - Justice SM Kuddus Zaman, Comptroller and Auditor General Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Bangladesh Public Service Commission Chairman Sohorab Hossain, former Election Commissioner Sohul Hussain and fiction writer Anwara Syed Haq - were also in attendance.
The Cabinet Division is providing secretarial support to the committee. Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam joined the meeting, reports bdnews24.com.
The Cabinet announced six appointments to the search committee on Saturday after the first law on the appointment of election commissioners was passed in Parliament in late January.
According to the law, the committee will propose a list of 10 nominees to the president within 15 working days, with two candidates for each of the five positions, including that of the chief election commissioner.
The president will then form the 13th Election Commission picking from the list.
The tenure of the current KM Nurul Huda-led commission will end on Feb 14.
The BNP has questioned the neutrality of the new search committee while the Jatiya Party is waiting to see what names the committee propose for the next Election Commission.
The law stipulates that the committee carry out their responsibilities impartially and transparently.
It will nominate a chief commissioner and commissioners according to the requisite qualifications, prohibitions, experience, skills and reputation, as stated by the law.
The committee can also ask political parties and professional organisations to present lists of their preferred candidates for the jobs.
