Govt gives nod to independent EC secretariat proposal

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The council of advisers has approved in principle an Election Commission proposal for separating its secretariat from the prime minister’s office and asked the law ministry to place a draft of an ordinance in this regard.
Official sources said the council at its regular meeting on Saturday directed the ministry of law to prepare and place a draft ordinance for establishing an independent secretariat of the Election Commission.
The interim government took the decision following a proposal sent by the EC on June 7 for separating its secretariat from the prime minister’s office [now chief adviser’s office] for ensuring the commission’s financial and administrative independence.
It was suggested that the EC secretariat should be made independent by amending the rules of business as amendments to the Constitution could not be made now in absence of parliament.
Members of the advisory council attended the meeting chaired by the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, at his office. Cabinet secretary and secretaries to the ministries concerned were present.
If the proposed ordinance is promulgated, the EC will not have to depend on the government for funds, a commission official said adding that the government would sanction block allocation as per the requirement of the EC while formulating the budget.
The EC will also be able to take necessary decisions to extend its reach to the upazila level and appoint officials of its own choice without consulting the government or seeking its approval.
The EC, after consultation with some constitution experts, found the ways to free the commission secretariat from the executive’s control by changing the rules of business through promulgation of an ordinance.
In Saturday’s meeting, the council of advisers also approved the draft Bangladesh Biman Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 to convert Bangladesh Biman Corporation to a public limited company (PLC) for its commercialisation, preventing mismanagement and trimming its manpower structure.
Following the reform, the national flag carrier will be running under the nomenclature of ‘Bangladesh Airlines Limited’ company.
The meeting asked the ministry concerned to do the scrutiny and place the draft of Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of ‘The Bangladesh Airlines Limited’ before the council of advisers.

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