DHAKA: Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) urged President Abdul Hamid to reform Election Commission by removing chief election commissioner (CEC) and other commissioners as their actions are embarrassing to the nation.

The civil society organization made the announcement through a press release on Thursday (Dec 12).

In the release, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said the news of moral fallout in the recruitment process, involving the CEC and the Commission Secretariat, is unprecedented and embarrassing for the whole nation.

It seems the overall management of the election commission is now corrupted and has become ineligible to run the institution, he added.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman said there are allegations against the commissioners and secretarial officials of embezzling people's tax money in the name of training and no one talks about it.

He also said the commission's employees were involved in providing illegal ID cards to the Rohingyas, who were forcibly displaced from Myanmar, which is a great fraud against the people and creates security risks for the nation.

The election commissioners have forgotten that the institution is a constitutional body. They have abused their oaths, defied the Constitution and disrespected the President. We, therefore, want President’s intervention to remove them and reshuffle the commission. We also urge Anti-Corruption Commission and authorities concerned to investigate the irregularities, Dr Iftekharuzzaman added.

BDST: 2018 HRS, DEC 12, 2019

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