Bangladesh
Election Commission New election commission should be formed on basis of consensus of all political parties: Chief Election Commissioner
Dhaka, September 30: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda said the new Election Commission (EC) should be formed on the basis of consensus of all political parties. He made the remarks in response to a question from reporters at the Election Building after the commission meeting on Wednesday.
Responding to a question on the issue, the CEC said, "The next commission should be formed on the basis of consensus of the political parties. I support it. There should be a commission so that the new commission is acceptable to all."
Asked whether the EC has any opinion on the formation of the new commission, he said, "The Election Commission has no opinion on what the new commission will be. The commission is not usually asked for its opinion. If asked, we will sit in the commission and see if we have any opinion."
Regarding the enactment of law to form the commission, he said, 'Parliament makes the law. Our laws come through the Ministry of Law. There was no indication from them as to whether the law should be made or not. They said that it should be done in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. This is what we see on television and in newspapers. We did not have any discussion with them in this regard. There was no discussion with us about making the law."
Asked how a consensus could be reached, the CEC said, "The President can do it. Last time he spoke to leaders of all political parties. This is a matter for the President. I can't say anything. We have nothing to do. We have no role in the consensus."
Asked whether the law would end the crisis of confidence, he said, "It will depend on what kind of law it will be. This cannot be said beforehand."
He said no government has taken the initiative to enact such a law in the last 50 years, even though the constitution clearly provides for appointments to the Election Commission "subject to the provisions of the law".
In response to a question about trust, the CEC said, "The EC is not a place of mistrust at all. It cannot be said that the people do not have confidence, the people did not say they do not have confidence."
