Dhaka: For the first time, Bangladesh Election Commission has got a woman member as President Abdul Hamid on Monday night reconstituted the Election Commission (EC).

The President appointed former secretary KM Nurul Huda as the Chief Election Commissioner and four other commissioners.

The four new commissioners are former additional secretary Mahub Talukder, ex-secretary Rafiqul Islam, former district and sessions’ judge Begum Kabita Khanam and Brig Gen (retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury.

The President appointed them from the 10 names proposed by the search committee, said Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam at a press conference at the Secretariat.

‘The search committee this evening submitted a report with two names for the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and eight names for four election commissioners of the Election Commission Secretariat,’ President’s Press Secretary Joynal Abedin told BSS.

Other names proposed by the search body are former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder for CEC post, and Professor Jarina Rahman Khan of Public Administration department at University of Dhaka, local government expert Dr. Tofayel Ahmed, former member of the Planning Commission Md. Abdul Mannan, and pro-vice-chancellor of BTFO Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah as election commissioners.

Earlier, the Search Committee headed by Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court formally handed over the report with the recommendation to the President at Bangabhaban.

He was accompanied by other members the committee — Justice Obaidul Hassan of the High Court, comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of Bangladesh Masud Ahmed, Public Service Commission (PSC) chairman Muhammed Sadique, trustee board member of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) professor Syed Manzoorul Islam and Chittagong University pro-vice-chancellor Shireen Akhter.

Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Safiul Alam, additional secretaries Md Abdul Wadud and Abdul and Mosammat Nasima Begum also accompanied the search committee delegation.

During the submission of the report, the Press Secretary said the search committee hoped the final decision would come as per the recommendation of the committee to ensure transparent and accountable tasks of the new Election Commission.

The President thanked the search committee members for their role in picking up 10 names within the stipulated time.

On January 25, President Abdul Hamid formed the six-member search committee asking it to recommend two names against each position in the commission.

Earlier, President Hamid held dialogue with 31 of the 40 registered political parties on the constitution of the EC between December 18, 2016 and January 18, 2017. He took their opinion on forming the next Election Commission through a political consensus.

The search committee shortlisted 20 names from 125 proposed by 26 political parties recommending mostly names of former bureaucrats for the CEC post.