Dhaka: Responding to search committee’s invitation, ruling Awami League on Tuesday submitted names of five individuals for the Election Commission.

The party’s office secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap submitted the names to the cabinet division at secretariat at about 12:45pm. 

The party sources said the proposed five names are—former secretary Mollah Wahiduzzaman, former Inspector General of Police Nur Mohammad, former secretary Abdul Karim, Manzur Hossain and former information commissioner Sadeka Halim. 

Talking to reporters, Golap said their party has proposed the names of honest, competent person who believe in the Liberation War spirit.

In Monday’s meeting of AL Advisors and Executives committee members, he said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged all members to suggest probable names of the CEC and other commissioners.

Later, Golap said five names have been picked from the names proposed by the majority members.

Meanwhile, 25 political parties, including Awami League and BNP, on Tuesday submitted names to the search committee for reconstituting the Election Commission (EC).

The other political parties include Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Islamic Oikya Jote, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlish, National Awami Party (NAP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh and Bangladesh Khilafat Andolon. 

Cabinet Division additional secretary Abdul Wadud said 25 parties submitted their parties’ proposed names by 2:15pm. Political parties can submit names until 3:00pm, he said. 

However, Bangladesh Communist Party did not propose any name to the search panel as it sent a letter to the search committee thanking it for taking the initiative for the EC formation. 

Earlier, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and BNP chairperson’s personal secretary ABM Abdus Sattar went to the cabinet division at about 12:30pm and handed over their party’s proposed five names to consider for the EC formation. 

The probable names that BNP has proposed are — Dr Tofail Ahmed, Salehuddin Ahmmed, Taskim A Rahman, former secretary Asafuddoula and lawyer Shahdin Malik. 

Rizvi said they proposed five names in the light of their Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s 13-point proposal on the constitution of a stronger and neutral Election Commission. 

The search committee sat in a meeting to examine the names proposed by 25 political parties to appoint as new election commissioners. The meeting began around 4:15 pm at the Supreme Court Judges’ Lounge. 

All the six members of the committee, led by Supreme Court's Appellate Division judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, joined the meeting.

After the meeting, cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said 25 political parties have submitted 125 names to search committee and the committee has short listed 20 names. 

The names of 20 will not be disclosed, added the secretary.

The search committee held its first meeting on Saturday asking each of the 31 political parties which took part in talks with the President over formation of the next EC to propose five names by Tuesday next.

On 25 January, President Abdul Hamid formed the six-member search committee, headed by Supreme Court’s Appellate Division judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, for reconstituting the EC. 

The committee held its first meeting on Saturday asking each of the 31 political parties which took part in talks with the President over formation of the next EC to propose five names.