Welcoming the formation of the new Election Commission (EC), BNP senior leaders on Thursday hoped that the new Commission will focus on restoring the voting rights of people.
“BNP wants the new Election Commission to work for bringing back the people’s right to franchise, without bowing to anyone's influence,” said party standing committee member Mirza Abbas.
Giving his initial reaction to the EC formation, the BNP leader said the country’s people want a free and fair election, where they will be able to freely cast their votes to elect their representatives.
He hoped that the government would promptly complete the reforms related to the electoral process and arrange the election to establish an elected government and parliament.
Another BNP standing committee member, Gayeshwar Chandra, said the country’s people have long been deprived of their voting rights.
He said the new commission should work independently and prioritise the restoration of voters' rights.
Earlier in the day, the government formed the five-member new Election Commission, appointing former Secretary AMM Md Nasir Uddin as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
The four other election commissioners are former Additional Secretary Md Anwarul Islam Sarker, former District and Sessions Judge Abdur Rahman Masud, former Joint Secretary Begum Tahmida Ahmad and Brigadier General (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin has appointed them following Section 118 (1) of the Constitution.
According to sources at BNP, the party had proposed two names for the position of Chief Election Commissioner, one of which was AMM Nasir Uddin, who previously served as Secretary in the Ministries of Energy and Mineral Resources and Health. He retired in January 2009.
The party also proposed the name of former Joint Secretary Begum Tahmida Ahmad for the appointment of commissioner.
On November 6, the BNP submitted five names to the search committee formed by the interim government to appoint the next chief election commissioner and other commissioners.
On October 31, the government formed the search committee for the formation of the Election Commission.