EC wants to keep NID services under it: Commissioner

The Election Commission (EC) will send a letter to the president to keep the NID services under the jurisdiction of the commission instead of the security division of the home affairs ministry.  

The Bangladesh Election Commission Officers Association submitted a memorandum to the commission in this regard, Election Commissioner Md Alamgir told journalists on Monday at his office at Agargaon.   

"We decided to send the memorandum to the president and a copy to the security division," he said, adding: "We would like to keep the services under our control." 

"We cannot be partisan and want to work collectively. That's why we want a decision from the president, who is the guardian of the state and the government. He would decide whatever he thinks good," said Commissioner Alamgir.   

Mentioning that there is a group of trained people who have been doing the NID work since the beginning, he said there is no scope for new challenges if the same group works.  

"It would require manpower and technical infrastructure if it is shifted from here [EC]. Besides, cost is involved with the process and it is time-consuming too," Alamgir said.  

The government has decided in principle to shift the NID services to the security division of the home ministry. The process of enactment of a law is going on, the passage of which would shift the services to the home ministry.  

"We have provided voter ID cards which were later named as NIDs. If the government takes away the cards, we would convert them into NIDs," said Commissioner Alamgir.