Search committee to be formed soon to reconstitute EC, says Bangladesh Chief Adviser Yunus

The search committee will be formed with six members as per the rules, the chief adviser’s personal assistant Mahfuj Alam, briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy, said after the meeting.

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Saturday said a search committee will be formed soon to reconstitute the Election Commission.

Yunus, the 84-year-old economist who became Chief Adviser on August 8 following the ouster of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, made the announcement during dialogues with various political parties held at the State Guest House Jamuna here, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) said.

Gano Forum, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote, 12-parties, Jatiya Mukti Council, Labour Party, Bangladesh Jatiya Party and some other political parties joined the dialogues.

The search committee will be formed with six members as per the rules, the chief adviser’s personal assistant Mahfuj Alam, briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy here, said after the meeting.

Alam said the election-related issues, including the preparation of a voters' list, will be discussed later.

He said that the election, reform commissions, financial crimes of the ousted Awami League and the trial of those who enabled the mass killings were discussed during the meeting.

The political leaders wanted to know what measures the government would take to ensure the trial of those involved in mass killing during the July-August student-led protests.

Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, faces almost 200 cases, mostly murders during the student protests.

Hundreds of people were also killed in the violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government, taking the death toll to more than 1,000 since the protests first started in mid-July.

The International Crimes Tribunal on Saturday issued a public notice seeking information on the alleged 'massacre' during the recent anti-discrimination students' movement that led to Hasina's ouster.

The public notice comes two days after the ICT issued arrest warrants against 77-year-old Hasina and 45 others for alleged crimes against humanity.

The special assistant said the political parties that joined the dialogue demanded a ban on the Awami League and its alliance parties.

Alam said the parties also expressed their views if the last three parliaments 2014, 2018 and 2024 could be declared illegal.

Replying to a question, the special assistant said the interim government will maintain its non-partisan and neutral stance in forming the search committee and the Election Commission.

Earlier this month, the interim government initiated a new round of dialogue with the political parties, in which former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had also joined.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul on Saturday issued a clarification about his statement on Thursday about the timing of the next general election.

He said holding an election is a very important “policy decision” and that “Its timing will be fixed under the leadership of the chief adviser of the interim government. The chief adviser has the sole authority to announce the election time.” Nazrul had told a news channel that the next election could be held in 2025 after completing the pre-election preparations, including the formation of a new Election Commission.