A
notification was issued yesterday (Thursday, October 3) to establish separate
commissions for reforms in five sectors: the electoral system, police,
judiciary, public administration, and anti-corruption. Of the six proposed commissions, only the notification for the Constitutional Reform Commission remains to be issued.
Chief
Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus announced the formation of six commissions
in his speech to the nation on Wednesday, September 11. Badiul Alam Majumdar
has been appointed as the head of the Electoral System Reform Commission. Safar
Raj Hossain will lead the Police Reform Commission. Meanwhile, Justice Shah Abu
Naeem Mominur Rahman will head the Judicial Reform Commission, Iftekharuzzaman
will chair the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission, and Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury
will lead the Public Administration Reform Commission. Initially, lawyer
Shahdeen Malik was named the head of the Constitutional Reform Commission, but
the role was later assigned to Professor Ali Riaz. These five commissions are officially set to begin their work with the notification issued.
The
notification states that alongside Badiul Alam Majumdar, the Electoral System
Reform Commission will include members such as local government and election
expert Dr. Tofail Ahmed, former Election Commission Additional Secretary Jesmin
Tuli, election expert Md. Abdul Alim, political analyst Dr. Zahed Ur Rahman,
governance and institutional reform specialist Mir Nadia Nivin, and electronic
voting and blockchain expert Mohammad Sadek Ferdous. A student
representative will also be part of the commission, though their name has not
been announced yet.
The
Police Reform Commission will have members including Additional Secretary
(Public Security Division) of the Ministry of Home Affairs Abu Momtaz Saad
Uddin Ahmed, former Director General of the Department of Narcotics Control
Mohammad Iqbal, former Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Harun Chowdhury, former
Additional IGP Sheikh Sajjad Ali, former police official Md. Golam Rasul, Professor of Dhaka University’s Law Department Shahnaz Huda, human rights activist ASM
Nasiruddin Elan, and a student representative.
Members
of the Judicial Reform Commission include retired Justice of the High Court
Division Emdadul Haque, former District and Sessions Judge and High Court
Division Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli, former District and Sessions Judge Syed
Aminul Islam, former District and Sessions Judge Majdar Hossain, senior Supreme
Court lawyer Tanim Hossain Shaon, Associate Professor of Dhaka University’s Law
Department Quazi Mahfujul Hoque Supan, and a student representative.
The
Public Administration Reform Commission will include former secretaries
Mohammad Tarek and Mohammad Aiyub Mia, senior secretary of the Ministry of
Public Administration Md. Mokhlesur Rahman, former Additional Secretary Md.
Hafizur Rahman, former Additional Secretary Rizwan Khair, former Chairman of
Dhaka University’s Department of Public Administration Professor AKA Firoz
Ahmed, and a student representative.
The Anti-Corruption Reform Commission includes former Comptroller and Auditor
General Masud Ahmed, Dhaka University’s Department of Public Administration
Professor Mobasser Monem, University of London Professor Mushtaq Khan,
Barrister Mahdin Choudhury, Dhaka University’s Law Department Professor Dr.
Mahbubur Rahman, Supreme Court lawyer Farzana Sharmin, and a student
representative.