Dhaka: The situation in Bangladesh is not normal. A shocking news has come from here. Something has happened in Bangladesh which has never happened before in the history of this country. The entire five-member Election Commission headed by Bangladesh Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal resigned from the post on Thursday. This development has happened after the formation of an interim government in the country. This is the first time that the Election Commission of the country has resigned before the completion of its scheduled term. Awal was appointed Chief Election Commissioner for a term of five years in February 2022. Army personnel were deployed outside the Election Commission and in the premises as a large number of protesters gathered in front of the Election Bhawan located in Agargaon area of the capital and were raising slogans against Awal and other members of the commission.
This has never happened before
Addressing a press conference at his office, Awal said there was no instance in the 53-year history of Bangladesh that an election commissioner had voluntarily resigned without completing its term. The chief election commissioner and other commissioners – Brigadier General (retd) Mohammad Ahsan Habib Khan, Rashida Sultana, Mohammad Alamgir and Mohammad Anisur Rahman – resigned on August 5, exactly a month after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Criticism of the Election Commission
The Election Commission faced criticism especially for holding the general election on January 7, which was boycotted by most parties, including the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Sheikh Hasina’s party Awami League was re-elected for the fourth consecutive time in this election.
