Transitional admin in Bangladesh form 'reform' bodies with no polls in sight

By Faisal Mahmud

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - The transitional government in Bangladesh on Wednesday announced six “reform” commissions, but gave no indication when fresh elections could be held in the South Asian nation.

The commissions will work to reform the constitution, electoral system, judiciary, police, anti-corruption commission, and public administration.

This is for the first time in Bangladesh’s history that such commissions have been formed for reforms of the major institutions.

Transitional government head Muhammad Yunus, however, did not give any indication or time frame about holding the next general election.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition, has demanded elections in three months since date of the interim set up taking charge.

In his address to the nation, Chief Adviser Yunus also named the leaders of the six commissions.

Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of civil rights group Shujan, will head the election system reform commission, while Sarfaraz Chowdhury will lead the police administration reform commission.

Retd. justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman, a former Supreme Court judge, will chair the judiciary reform commission.

Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, will oversee the anti-corruption reform commission.

Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, a former adviser to the caretaker government, will lead the public administration reform commission, and Shahdeen Malik, an advocate at the Supreme Court, will head the constitution reform commission.

The commissions will begin their work on Oct. 1 and are expected to complete their tasks within three months.

Following the release of the commission reports, the government will meet with major political parties to finalize the reform framework, which will be determined after a three-to-seven-day consultation involving representatives from students, civil society, political parties, and the government.

The Yunus-led transitional government was formed after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, forced out by violent student demonstrations.