THE acting chief of the Election Commission with his four commissioners quitting the Election Commission after the resignation of CEC Justice MA Aziz on leave, the deck has been cleared at last for a reconstituted EC to take charge. The controversial manning of the EC and the way they acquitted of themselves left a legacy of incompetence, wasteful expenditure and defiance of court ruling about preparation of voters' list.

The new set in the EC has their jobs cut out. Their first task is to restore public confidence in the institution of the Election Commission by the way they go about preparing an authentic and credible voter list including ID card for voters, if possible, and carrying out necessary changes to the electoral laws. Simultaneous with these onerous responsibilities they discharge they will announce the election schedule which the nation eagerly awaits.

The wholesale change in the EC goes to meet the 14-party alliances' demand, so that the political parties and the EC will be interacting positively now in carrying forward the electoral process. It is worthwhile to note that on voter list and electoral reform agenda there have been substantive brainstorming sessions and discourses courtesy various civil society groups and think-tanks. There is a lot of wisdom out there for the EC and the government to tap in on.

A cleansing process has come to an end but only after exposing how much eroded a vital institution can get through politicisation and attempts at election engineering. This is the lesson all concerned should learn from the experience. It was Justice Aziz who could have spared the nation the turmoil it was subjected to -- thanks to his overly delayed resignation. Then Justice Mahfuzur Rahman made himself the selfproclaimed acting CEC without any presidential reference. Politicisation of the EC and the lack of sense of propriety on the part of the commissioners brought down the image of the statutory body to an abyss. They sat out their time idly by as the EC plunged into a dysfunctional comatose. Huge sums of money were spent on a voter list that came of no use. Somebody must be made to account for this.

It is an election centered controversy that got the nation caught in a constitutional maelstrom. The emergence of a new interim government and a reconstituted EC has made possible a fresh beginning in the conduct of general election. The new EC is right under the spotlight with the people keeping faith in it to deliver a credible election to the nation. Let it live up to the expectation.