Former additional secretary to cabinet division, M Anisuzzaman Khan, is likely to be appointed as the new CEC while a former brigadier general and a former district judge are likely to be appointed as election commissioners, sources said.

A few of the resigning election commissioners did not agree to admit their failure as election commissioners. They also refused to comment on their resignation, saying Bangabhaban will announce the EC overhaul in a statement.

The president's office, however, did not officially disclose the news of the resignation as of 8:00pm yesterday.

When contacted last evening, Law Adviser Mainul Hosein told The Daily Star that he heard of the election commissioners' resignation.

The state-run news agency, BSS, also quoted a Bangabhaban official as saying the election commissioners met the president and submitted their resignation letters.

The caretaker government will now appoint a new CEC and two election commissioners to recast the EC, which will initiate steps including preparation of a voter list for holding the ninth parliamentary election.

"The interim government will immediately appoint three election commissioners, including a CEC, to form a new Election Commission," the law adviser said, adding that the names of the new commissioners have been finalised.

"The new Election Commission will take steps to bring changes to the electoral laws. The government wants an election free from black money and corruption," Mainul added.

Responding to an invitation for a cup of tea, Acting CEC Justice Mahfuzur Rahman, election commissioners SM Zakaria, Mahmud Hasan Mansur, Modabbir Hossain Chowdhury and Saiful Alam met President Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday at about 1:00pm and tendered their resignation letters, sources said.

Earlier on January 21, Justice MA Aziz resigned from the post of CEC.

None of the resigning commissioners disclosed anything about the content of their discussion with the president at Bangabhaban.

"It was not a healthy discussion," an annoyed election commissioner told The Daily Star after tendering his resignation. "All of us are not responsible for the prevailing situation in the Election Commission, but we became the victims of the situation," he added.

Justice Mahfuz and Mansur returned to the EC from Bangabhaban but declined to make any comment about the resignation.

"Bangabhaban will tell everything by issuing a press release," Justice Mahfuz told reporters on the EC premises.

Mansur said they went to Bangabhaban at the president's invitation for a cup of tea.

Asked why he was leaving the office as early as 3:00pm, he told reporters, "Guess applying your common sense why I am leaving before the end of office hour."

Three other election commissioners--Zakaria, Modabbir and Saiful--did not return to EC from Bangabhaban.

President Iajuddin Ahmed had appointed all the election commissioners: Justice MA Aziz as CEC on May 23, 2005, Zakaria and Mahfuz on January 16, 2006, and Mansur on August 31 last year--all on advice of the then BNP-led government. He then suddenly appointed Modabbir and Saiful on November 27 last year, keeping in dark and annoying the then council of advisers.

With six election commissioners, the Aziz-led EC became the largest one ever in the history of Bangladesh, but it completely failed to build people's confidence in it for holding a free and fair election.

It failed to conduct the ninth parliamentary elections scheduled for January 22 and formally cancelled the election in line with a decision of the present caretaker government.

The council of advisers to the immediate past caretaker government headed by President Iajuddin Ahmed faced tremendous difficulties in reconstituting the EC as neither Aziz nor SM Zakaria agreed to resign.

The BNP-led four-party alliance was also rigid against the resignation of the two commissioners appointed by the BNP government.

Law Adviser Mainul Hosein yesterday said the resignation of the five commissioners will end all problems the EC recast has been facing.

Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday urged the government to appoint people with no records of playing controversial role in the past or at present as the CEC and commissioners.

In a statement, Bhuiyan hoped that the government will prove the eligibility of the EC through reconstituting it with such persons who are absolutely non-partisan and have been competent in their careers.

"The government should be sincere so that nobody can raise questions about the acceptability of the members of reconstituted Election Commission," he said.