The Election Commission (EC) has formed an “Election Inquiry and Judicial Committee” for the 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country to investigate pre-election irregularities and conduct brief trials for electoral offenses.
The committees were formed through a notification signed by Deputy Secretary of the EC’s Law Division, Mohammad Didar Hossain on Sunday.
The committees were formed in consultation with the Bangladesh Supreme Court and the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs.
According to the notification, judicial officers will be assigned to these 300 committees. Their primary responsibility will be to investigate any pre-election irregularities and conduct brief trials for these offenses.
From the date of the notification, committee members will be considered released from their current positions and assigned to the Election Commission. They will be stationed in their respective constituencies to carry out election-related duties, remaining in their roles until the publication of the election results in the official government gazette.
The notification further specifies that in the event of any pre-election irregularities, the committees will investigate within three days and submit their reports to the relevant District Election Officer.
The District Election Officer will then forward the report to the Senior Secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat.
The report must be sent in PDF format to the Internal Account of the Deputy Secretary (Legal Affairs-1 Branch) of the Ministry of Law.
Additionally, the committees will have the authority to take immediate disciplinary action through a brief judicial process.
