Kazi Awal at the EC helm

"After taking the oath, I will exchange views with my colleagues. We will see what is in the book. The national election is only about two years away. We have to be prepared."

— New CEC Kazi Habibul Awal

Former senior secretary Kazi Habibul Awal is the chief election commissioner for the next five years. The Election Commission will hold the 12th parliamentary election and polls to all the other tiers of the government with him at its helm.

President Abdul Hamid yesterday appointed him as the CEC.

The four other commissioners are: former district and sessions judge Rashida Sultana, Brig Gen (retd) Ahsan Habib Khan, former EC secretary Md Alamgir, and former energy and mineral resources division senior secretary Anisur Rahman.

The Cabinet Division yesterday issued two gazettes about the appointments. The commissioners are likely to be sworn in today, officials said.

In his immediate reaction, the new CEC said the general election slated for 2023 would be the commission's main focus.

"After taking the oath, I will exchange views with my colleagues. We will see what is in the book. The national election is only about two years away. We have to be prepared," Awal told The Daily Star. "If I can hold elections acceptable [to all], maybe I will have the joy of success, or else, I will have regret."

The 66-year-old former bureaucrat is the son of the late Kazi Abdul Awal, the deputy inspector general of prisons who filed the case for the assassinations of the four national leaders in jail in 1975.

New CEC Awal retired as senior secretary to the defence ministry in 2015 and got two subsequent contractual appointments.

In 2009, the Supreme Court found his appointment as an acting secretary to the law ministry illegal. The appointment was challenged in a writ petition filed by a district judge.

Awal is the sixth bureaucrat to become the CEC. This is the first time an EC is formed under a law.

The BNP and some other political parties boycotted the process of EC formation, saying that forming the EC would be pointless because a fair election would be impossible without an impartial polls-time government.

REACTIONS OF COMMISSIONERS

Rashida Sultana said, "I will work with everyone for the welfare of the country. I will sit with all commissioners and then I will be able to give more details."

Former senior secretary Alamgir said, "I had the chance to closely observe the inner workings of the Election Commission while I was at its secretariat. We will try to take lessons from the mistakes of the past."

He hoped that the new commission would work to win the confidence of all political parties.

Former senior secretary Anisur Rahman said, "We will sit and then decide our next course of action." He added that he will carry out his responsibilities with honesty.

Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said as long as the Awami League remains in power, the EC cannot hold a free and fair election.

"It has been proven that the Awami League picked its own people in the new Election Commission. This Election Commission won't be able to hold any polls independently," he said.

Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said the five individuals forming the commission had in the past performed their duties with integrity and efficiency.

"The new EC will meet the people's expectations," he said.

FORMATION PROCESS

On February 5, the president formed a search panel, headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, after holding talks with 25 political parties.

The committee asked political parties, professional bodies and individuals to make recommendations for the EC. It also held meetings with eminent citizens, media personalities, university teachers, and election experts.

After receiving the recommendations, the committee published the names of over 300 nominees. On February 24, it submitted to the president a list of 10 names for the five-member EC. The president picked the CEC and the four commissioners.

Kazi Habibul Awal

Born in 1956, Awal did his LLB and LLM from Dhaka University. He retired as a senior secretary to the defence ministry in January 2015. During the army-backed caretaker government, Awal was appointed as the acting law ministry secretary, but the High Court, following a writ petition, in 2008 declared his appointment illegal. The Supreme Court upheld the HC's verdict next year.

Rashida Sultana

Born in 1961, Rashida obtained her secondary and higher secondary certificates from Sirajganj. She completed her graduation and post-graduation from Rajshahi University's law department in 1982 and 1984. Rashida, who joined the judiciary in 1985, retired as a district judge in 2020. After her retirement, she did not engage in any other services.

Ahsan Habib Khan

Brig Gen (retd) Ahsan Habib Khan was the vice-chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) from August 2014 to August 2017. He was also a director general (spectrum) of BTRC prior to becoming the vice-chairman of the regulatory body. He also worked as a top official of a World Bank project at BTRC. Brig Gen Ahsan retired from the army in 2013.

Md Alamgir

Alamgir was a former senior secretary at the Election Commission. He also worked as secretary to the Technical and Madrasah Education Division. Besides, he served as secretary to the education ministry and as director general of the Directorate of Primary Education. He was also the director general of the Bureau of Non-Formal Education, and additional secretary at the expatriate welfare and overseas employment ministry.

Anisur Rahman

Born on December 31, 1962, in Shariatpur, Anisur obtained his honours and masters' degrees from Dhaka University's geography and environment department. Before his retirement as senior secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Division, Anisur, who was a civil servant of the BCS 1985 batch, served in various capacities in the civil service. He was also the secretary to the religious affairs ministry.