Transfer of UNO, OC:  AL lawmaker Arafat welcomes EC directive to provide equal playing field

Mohammad Ali Arafat, a Dhaka-17 lawmaker, welcomed Election Commission‍‍`s (EC) decision to transfer government officials before the upcoming election. 

He wrote on his X handle, formerly known as Twitter, amid ongoing discussions about transferring Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) and Officer-in-Charge (OCs) of police stations.

In his tweet, he said: “Following the instructions of the Election Commission to transfer all executive officers at the lowest tier of the administration (UNOs) and Police Station Officers (OCs) ahead of the national parliamentary election on January 7, the authorities have made a preliminary list of those who will be transferred in the first phase.”

Arafat, a member of the Awami League‍‍`s central working committee, welcomed the Election Commission‍‍`s initiative to create a level playing field at the grassroots. 

According to sources, district officials have developed a list of 207 UNOs and 326 OCs for the first round of transfer. 

According to the EC, UNOs who have worked at an upazila for more than a year would be transferred to other districts, and OCs who have been employed at a police station for more than six months will be relocated to a different constituency.

The EC approved the Ministry of Public Administration‍‍`s petition on Monday to transfer 47 UNOs across the country.

Remarkably on November 30, the EC directed two senior secretaries from the home ministry and the public administration ministry to phase the relocation of all 495 UNOs and 636 OCs across the country to ensure a free and fair national election. 

The decision was made to avoid any ‍‍`sympathy‍‍` for any candidate in a place where these government officials had long served.