Staff Reporter :
Chief election commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has said the National Identity (NID) and voter database are interrelated and their dependency may be hampered if NID services are taken under the home ministry.
The CEC said this while talking with reporters at Election Commission on Wednesday (31 August). Earlier, EC employees submitted a memorandum to CEC to take steps to keep NID services under the commission.
“A law is being drafted to shift NID services to the Security Services Division under the home ministry. EC officials came here to talk about these matters. They are involved with NID services for 15 to 18 years,” the CEC added. “Voter database is interrelated with NID services. If NID services go to another agency, dependency issues may be hampered,” Kazi Habibul Awal said.
He further said it will be beneficial for the country if NID service is kept under EC.
If the service shift to another agency, the interrelation between NID service and EC will be affected, he reiterated.
Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Ahsan Habib Khan criticised rights organisation Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) for their Sunday’s press conference.
“We invited political parties, National Technical Committee for discussion over EVMs. But they (Shujan) didn’t come. We are open to them. Why did they hold a press conference suddenly?” he questioned.
