CEC at 'loggerheads' with 4 commissioners over recruitment

The chief election commissioner (CEC) is reportedly at loggerheads with the other four commissioners of the election commission (EC) over certain appointments made by the EC secretariat.

The appointment of 339 employees was finalised, completely by passing the four commissioners, the agrieved commissioners have said.

Election commissioners Mahbub Talukdar, Rafiqul Islam, Kabita Khanam and Shahadat Hossain on Sunday issued a letter in this regard to CEC KM Nurul Huda.

The commissioners in the letter alleged that they were not informed about many issues, including financial transactions of the commission. Presently the EC has no control over the officers and employees of the EC secretariat, they added.

The commissioners also pointed out that the officers and employees are merely under the control of the CEC and the EC secretary. In the letter, they also mentioned about the recruitment. 

The CEC and the EC secretary, however, feel that appointments and a few other issues are not under the EC’s jurisdiction.

The secretary will be accountable to the commission through the CEC. The commissioners clashed with the CEC in the past too, concerning the issue of authority over the secretariat.

The EC secretariat in February advertised for the recruitment of 339 employees for posts between 12th and 20th grades. A total of 85,893 applications were submitted. The appointments were finalised and appointment letters issued this month.

The four election commissioners were not consulted about these appointments. Their approval was not taken. The secretary had forwarded the file in this regard and the CEC gave his approval. The four commissioners were displeased over the matter. One of the commissioners, on condition of anonymity, said that Tk 40.80 million was spent on these appointments, but this sum remains unaccounted.

Senior secretary of the EC secretariat Md Alamgir told Prothom Alo that he has no idea about the letter issued by four commissioners. He said that the appointments were made in keeping with the rules. Similar appointments had been made following the same procedures in the past. The appointment exam was held at Dhaka University. The oral exams were taken by representatives of the finance ministry, the public administration ministry and the public service commission.

The matter of these appointments was discussed at a meeting chaired by the CEC on 14 November.

When the four commissioners asked why they hadn’t been informed about the appointments, senior secretary Md Alamgir said that such appointments and expenditure in this regard were not in the jurisdiction of the EC. The CEC agreed.

The secretary said the approval of the commission was only required about matters pertaining to the election.

In the letter issued by the four commissioners to the CEC on Sunday, it was said all matters involving the EC secretariat and the EC had to be conducted in accordance to the constitution and the prevailing laws and regulations.  If not, the overall control of the EC would be disrupted. They called upon the CEC to take action in this regard.

Election commissioner Rafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo that they had nothing to say about the appointments.

They had said that they were not informed about many issues of the EC and requested that they be informed about all matters pertaining to the commission.

Referring to EC-related laws and regulations in their letter, the four commissioners said that the EC secretariat was accountable to the commission and so should inform the commission about all matters.

The secretariat had been created to carry out the duties of the commission. The officers and employees of the EC secretariat would carry out all duties under the control of the commission. The secretary would be accountable to the commissioners through the CEC.

The letter went on to say that the commission was the final authority regarding expenditure of funds from the budget allocated to the EC secretariat. The approval of the commission was a must. The failure to inform the commission of financial matters was a clear violation of Article 16 of the Election Commission Secretariat Act.