The search committee over the formation of the next election commission on Tuesday finalises the names of 10 individuals to send to the president for appointing the next chief election commissioner and other election commissioners.
The names were finalised in a meeting of the search committee led by the committee chief and Supreme Court Judge, Justice Obaydul Hassan, said cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam after the meeting at Supreme Court Judges Lounge in Bangladesh capital Dhaka at about 8:00pm.
He said that the committee would submit the names to the president on February 24.
The committee finalised the names from a shortlist of 12 or 13 names that they made on February 20.
The committee on February 19 prepared a list of 20 individuals from the list of 322 individuals nominated for the positions by different political parties, organisations and individuals.
On February 14, the Cabinet Division made public a list of 322 individuals proposed by different political parties, organisations and individuals for the appointment of the next chief election commissioner and other election commissioners.
On February 5, the president formed the six-member search committee.
The other members of the committee are High Court judge Justice SM Kuddus Zaman, former election commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hossain, writer Anowara Syed Haque, comptroller and auditor general of Bangladesh Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury and Bangladesh Public Service Commission chair Mohammed Sohrab Hossain.
The five-year tenure of the five-member EC led by KM Nurul Huda ended on February 14.
At least 15 political parties, including the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, did not participate in any activities regarding the formation of the next EC saying that the issue of election-time government was more important than the EC formation.
