EC secretary, commissioner launch tirades at each other

Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder locked horns with commission Secretary Md Alamgir today over running the EC secretariat and alleged irregularities in the appointment of employees.

Speaking at a press briefing, Mahbub alleged that a kind of “arbitrariness” was going on in running the secretariat which not supported by the constitution, Representation of the People Order-1972, Election Commission Secretariat Act-2009 and the related rules.

He said the secretariat did not inform the four commissioners about the recent employee recruitment tests and the expenditures for those.

The commissioner said he wrote to the secretariat asking it why any action was not taken against 135 jobseekers who were expelled from the viva voce exam.

EC Secretary Alamgir told a meeting on November 14 that the appointment and financial issues were outside the purview of the commission, he said.

“The chief election commissioner [KM Nurul Huda] supported the secretary’s statement at the meeting.”

As usual, all election commissioners sent an unofficial (UO) note to the CEC on Sunday, seeking information on the functions of the secretariat and the purview of the commissioners regarding the functions, Mahbub said.

In the note, four commissioners Mahbub, Rafiqul Islam, Kabita Khanam, and Brig Gen (retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury requested the CEC to take effective measures in this regard and inform them.

“The activities of the constitutional body [Election Commission] is now in question due to internal irregularities,” Mahbub said, adding that the EC secretariat was not accountable for its activities in some cases, but the commission had to shoulder the responsibilities in almost all the cases.

He said it is necessary to strictly follow the constitution, Representation of the People Order-1972, Election Commission Secretariat Act-2009 and the related rules to end such an unexpected situation.

“It’s not possible to hold a fair election without coordination between the Election Commission and the Election Commission Secretariat,” Mahbub observed.