New Election Commission takes shape

Amid much speculation about when the next election might take place, former health and energy secretary AMM Nasir Uddin has been appointed as the new chief election commissioner.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin yesterday also appointed retired additional secretary Anwarul Islam Sarkar, retired district and sessions judge Abdur Rahmanel Masud, retired joint secretary Begum Tahmida Ahmad, and Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah as election commissioners.
Nasir is also a member of the local government reform commission formed on November 18. The appointments are made as political parties have for weeks been asking when the election will be held.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on November 17 said the government would issue a roadmap to the election as soon decisions on electoral reforms are made.
The Election Commission (EC) had been vacant since September 5 when members of the previous commission, led by Kazi Habibul Awal, resigned. The EC had never been vacant for this long since it was founded in 1972.
Awal and the other commissioners were about half way through their five-year tenure.
On October 29, the interim government formed a six-member search committee led by Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury to come up with names of two individuals for each membership of the EC.
BNP and several other parties proposed the names of Nasir and former secretary Shafiqul Islam as the chief election commissioner (CEC).
Nasir Uddin, aged 72, would be the 14th CEC and the seventh former bureaucrat to be in the position.
REACTIONS OF NEW COMMISSIONERS

Nasir said he would leave no stones unturned for a free, fair, and credible election. The commission will work independently with the goal of establishing people’s right to vote.
“I am not interested in knowing who nominated me. I will work independently. If I find out which party supported me and which did not, it might make me biassed, even if subconsciously,” he said.
“We must learn from [past ECs’] mistakes. We aim to avoid those flaws so that no allegations are raised against us.”
All political parties desire a free and fair election, he said, adding   that there are debates regarding one particular party.
“I don’t wish to comment on this at the moment. When it is time for the election, we will see, and you will see. We aim to include everyone in the electoral process, but for now, I refrain from making comments.”
After meeting the other commissioners, he will sit with the electoral reform commission and “identify the priorities”.
Born in 1952 at Kutubdia, Cox’s Bazar, Nasir completed his graduation and post-graduation in economics from Chittagong University. He was a lecturer at the same department for a brief period before joining civil service in 1979.
He was tax cadre then moved to administration. He was also a member of the Planning Commission. He served as the secretary to the ministries of information, energy, and health. He retired in 2010.
Retired district judge Abdur Rahmanel Masud retired as a member of the Administrative Tribunal-1 in Dhaka in 2017. He began his career in 1981 as a lawyer and joined the judiciary as an assistant judge in 1983.
He served as the first assistant registrar and deputy registrar-1 at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. He was promoted as a district judge in 2000.
He also taught laws at private universities and wrote about legal matters.
Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said, “I am happy. This is a huge responsibility, but I am sure we will be able to meet people’s aspirations.”
He was commissioned in June 1988 and served the army for 34 and a half years. His last work station was Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad. Prior to this, he worked at the Bangladesh Embassy in Tehran, Iran. He also studied at Defence Services Command and Staff College, National Defence College, Mirpur, US Army Command and General Staff College, USA and College of Defence Management, India.
Anwarul Islam Sarker joined the public service through the 1985 batch of BCS. He performed duties in different capacities at Cox’s Bazar, Habiganj and other districts.