Election Commission officials protest over NID services transfer

Officials from the Election Commission Secretariat have launched a protest in front of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin‍‍`s office, demanding that National Identification (NID) services remain under the Election Commission’s control.

The protest started on Thursday at the Election Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka. 

The protesting officials and employees argue that transferring the NID services away from the Election Commission could have a negative impact on the fairness of elections.

Addressing the situation later, the Chief Election Commissioner spoke on behalf of the Commission, confirming that the Election Commission wants the NID services to stay under its jurisdiction. 

However, the CEC made it clear that the Commission does not have the authority to make the final decision on this matter.

“The Election Commission believes that the government should not make any decisions about the NID services without consulting us first,” the CEC added.

The government is currently planning to create a separate commission to handle Civil Registration, including services like birth registration, national ID cards, and passports. 

To this end, the Cabinet Division is consulting with stakeholders such as the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Previously, a law was passed under a past government to bring NID services under the Ministry of Home Affairs, but an interim government later repealed that law, returning the services to the Election Commission.

Despite no final decision being made yet, Election Commission officials have expressed dissatisfaction over the government‍‍`s intention to create a separate commission for handling NID services.