Controversy over contractual appointment in Election Commission, opposition concerns over impartiality

According to government decision, retired bureaucrat Md. Shamsul Alam has been appointed as Additional Secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat on a contractual basis. During his service, he worked in the Election Commission's election management branch and retired in 2017. Afterwards, he became active in BNP politics.

Stakeholders consider this appointment significant ahead of the local government elections. According to them, the appointment of a politically involved person to an important position in the administrative structure of the Election Commission could raise questions about the commission's impartiality.

Jamaat-e-Islami's Assistant Secretary General Ehsanul Mahbub Jubayer, the main opposition party in parliament, said that appointing a politically involved person to the second most important administrative position in a constitutional institution like the Election Commission is unacceptable. He claimed that this has created concerns about influencing the upcoming elections.

National Citizen Party (NCP) chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari also raised questions about this appointment on social media. He claimed that the ruling party's electoral 'engineering' has begun ahead of local and national elections. According to him, if the person in charge of election management has a political identity, questions about impartiality will naturally arise.

Regarding this, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Mashud said in a brief reaction, 'If the government appoints, the commission has nothing to do.'

From next October, Union Parishad, municipality, upazila, district council and city corporation elections are scheduled to be held in phases. In the Election Commission Secretariat, the Additional Secretary is administratively important right after the Secretary. Most of the commission's important files go to the Secretary through him, and he also participates in policy-making meetings.

An Election Commission official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Additional Secretary's scope of responsibilities is vast. He is involved in transfers, administrative activities, and various important decisions. Hence, controversy has arisen over the appointment to this post.

Meanwhile, apart from Shamsul Alam, several other individuals linked to BNP have recently been appointed to top positions in various government agencies at the rank of Additional Secretary. Earlier, BNP leaders were given responsibilities as chairmen of various development authorities.

Regarding this, State Minister for Public Administration Md. Abdul Bari said that the government has the legal authority to make these appointments and the government is not obliged to answer anyone on this matter.

There are differing opinions among administrative analysts regarding this appointment. Former Secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder believes that due to internal divisions and long-standing instability in the administration, the government is bringing in people it trusts for important responsibilities. However, he warned that if the appointees do not follow the rules, state institutions could be damaged.

On the other hand, Professor Sadiq Hasan of the Department of Public Administration at Dhaka University commented that because the government has been out of power for a long time, there is a lack of trust in the administration. In that context, politically trusted individuals are being appointed to important positions.