EC meets press on Thursday amid resignation speculation

The Election Commission, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, will hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon – the first since the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government.

According to Shariful Islam, Public Relations Officer of the EC Secretariat, the event will be held at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka.

There is growing speculation that the CEC and the other commissioners may submit their resignations on September 5, possibly sending their letters directly to the President. Several sources within the EC indicate that if there are no changes, the resignations will be officially announced during the press conference.

Since Sheikh Hasina was deposed on August 5, the commission headed by Kazi Habibul Awal has said nothing and has not initiated local elections. However, on August 24, the CEC published an article in a Bengali daily acknowledging the crisis in the Election Commission in the wake of constitutional amendments after the revolution.

The current EC has been widely criticised, particularly for its management of the controversial January 7, 2024, general elections in which the Awami League won a fourth consecutive term. Various political parties, including the BNP, have also questioned the legality of other local elections held under this commission.

Kazi Habibul Awal, a former secretary, was appointed as CEC on February 27, 2022, along with commissioners Rashida Sultana, Brigadier (retired) Md Ahsan Habib Khan and former secretaries Md Alamgir and Anisur Rahman. This commission was the first to be formed through a constitutionally mandated search committee process, where nominations were sought from registered political parties. While the Awami League submitted names, the BNP and other parties chose not to participate in the process.