CEC holds meeting with three intelligence chiefs

The chiefs of three intelligence agencies met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal separately at the Nirbachan Bhaban (election building) in the capital’s Agargaon on Tuesday.

Sources in the election commission said Major General Hamidul Haque, director general of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and Manirul Islam, chief of the police’s Special Branch (SB) held separate meetings with the CEC on Tuesday morning.

Later, in the evening, National Security Intelligence (NSI) director general Major General TM Zobayer met the CEC.

In response to queries from the newspersons regarding the agenda of these meetings, EC secretary Jahangir Alam said, “How would I know what they discussed with the CEC? These sorts of meetings will be common in the coming days as we have several issues relevant to the declaration of the election schedule ahead. If we have to provide the information you (journalists) are seeking, then we too will have to collect that.”

There have been several media reports of dissents among the election commissioners over a few decisions recently. Speaking regarding this, the EC secretary claimed that there are no such issues among the election commissioners.

The EC is preparing for the upcoming parliamentary election likely to be held in January next year. The election commissioners are likely to visit the Bangabhaban on Thursday to inform the president about the latest developments in this regard.

The election schedule could be declared the following week.