Three election commissioners are scheduled to visit five countries this month and the next to learn about biometric database management system.

They will leave the country immediately after the chief election commissioner (CEC), who is in the US now, returns home after his a month and a half long foreign tour that sparked huge criticism from different quarters.

CEC Kazi Kakibuddin Ahmad has set an unprecedented example of leaving the EC leaderless during the recently held upazila elections.

A three-member delegation led by Election Commissioner Zabed Ali will visit Australia and Singapore from April 18 to April 27.

A four-member delegation led by Election Commissioner Abu Hafiz will visit the UK and Switzerland from May 2 to May 11, while another four-member delegation led by Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz will visit the UK and France from May 16 to May 25.

During their visit, the election commissioners will exchange views with officials of the countries concerned regarding managing citizen database, producing and distributing ID cards with biometric features and reviewing and appealing rights systems and services

approaches that maximize the ease of government services for all the citizens, said an official letter of the Election Commission.

The EC's Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services (IDEA) project will bear the expenditure.