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CEC issue

President may be requested to take steps

NAZRUL ISLAM
The tussle between a section of ruling party lawmakers and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) M A Syed has deepened further with a few ruling party men demanding his removal for his recent comments reported in the press.
The lawmakers may request President Iajuddin Ahmed to take necessary steps in this regard as they feel that the CEC has lost his ability to run the EC.
"Since the President can take steps on the basis of the Supreme Judicial Council's report, we will request him to look into his (CEC's) ability to run the office," one of the lawmakers aggrieved by Syed's comments told The Daily Star yesterday.
He said the party deputies demanding his resignation may sit tomorrow to discuss the matter.
As per the Constitution, the provision for removal of a CEC and a Supreme Court judge is the same. The President, upon any information from the Council or any other source, can ask the Council to probe it.
The government, irked by the CEC's actions in the last couple of months, is considering a constitutional amendment regarding the age limit of Election Commissioners. The amendment proposal is likely to be placed in the next parliament session.
The Constitution says a member of the Election Commission (EC) will hold office for five years. The government may opt to slash
the CEC by fixing the age limit for an EC member, sources said.
Ruling party insiders say, its policymakers have been observing that Syed's comments on the Union Parishad (UP) polls and his plea for troops deployment damaged the government's image.
Two ruling party lawmakersHelaluzzaman Talukder Lalu and Shahidul Huq Jamal claimed in parliament that the CEC had made derogatory comments about them and demanded his removal. These alleged comments seriously angered the government.
It all started late last year when the EC announced UP polls schedule and the government differed with it. The EC was finally forced to defer the election by three weeks.
Then, in December, the EC demanded troops deployment in aid of the civil administration to maintain law and order during the January 25-March 16 polls.
But, the government turned down his request, saying the atmosphere was conducive to holding of a peaceful election. The CEC repeated his demand
but the government rejected his plea on all occasions.
His request came at a time when the government was winding up the army-led Operation Clean Heart and the indemnity ordinance was in the offing.
On several occasions, Syed told newsmen that he would continue demanding army deployment for holding of a free and fair election. At one stage he said widespread rigging and violence took place during polls that claimed more than 50 lives and injured several thousand.
Giving these accounts, the CEC told newsmen on February 3 that the UP polls was more or less a futile exercise. This greatly embarrassed the government and led to the buildup of sentiment against him.