Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday directed the authorities concerned to immediately form a committee to investigate the role of former Chief Election Commissioners, Election Commissioners and Secretaries of the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat involved in organising three controversial national elections.
He came up with the directives at a meeting of the National Consensus Commission at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka.
Vice-Chairman of the National Consensus Commission Professor Ali Riaz, its members Badiul Alam Majumder, Iftekharuzzaman, Safar Raj Hossain and Mohammad Ayub Miah were present at the meeting.
Among others, Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser Siraz Uddin Mia and Chief Adviser’s Monir Haider were present.
In the meeting, the commission members informed the chief adviser of the progress of the works on preparing the July Charter.
Prof Ali Riaz said, “Consensus has been reached on several issues. It will be possible to finalise the charter very soon based on discussions with all political parties.”
Prof Yunus, also the commission chairman, said everyone is eagerly waiting for the July Charter. “I hope we will be able to present it to the nation by next July,” he said.
Mentioning his experience of his visit to London, the Chief Adviser said: “Everyone from the Bangladeshi community I met in London wanted to know about the reforms. Bangladeshi students were very interested. They discussed the work of the Consensus Commission with me in detail and gave their opinions.”
“Wherever I went, the Bangladeshi expatriates were asking me, will they be able to vote in the next elections? We must make every effort to ensure the voting rights of our expatriates. Postal ballots and other options need to be considered and discussed with those concerned (to this end),” he said.
Electoral System Reform Commission chief Badiul Alam Majumder said all politicians have agreed that the role of officials in organising the past three controversial elections needs to be investigated and held those accountable.
