Election Commission Officials to Launch ‘Stand for NID’ Campaign

Officials and employees of the Election Commission (EC) had set a deadline until Wednesday, March 12, for necessary measures to keep the National Identity Registration (NID) services under the EC’s jurisdiction. However, with no visible initiatives in this regard, they have announced the launch of the ‘Stand for NID’ campaign starting Thursday, March 13, to press their demand.

The announcement was made during a press conference at the media center of the Election Commission building on Wednesday. Mohammad Monir Hossain, Convener of the Bangladesh Election Commission Officers’ Association and Deputy Secretary, stated that the previous government had initially attempted to transfer the NID services to the Security Services Division. However, there was a consensus that the service should remain under the EC’s authority. Subsequently, the interim government’s advisory council decided to repeal the law transferring the NID to the Ministry of Home Affairs and to keep it under the EC’s jurisdiction. Nevertheless, another initiative emerged proposing the establishment of a separate commission to manage NID operations.

Monir Hossain further said, “On March 5, we submitted a memorandum to the commission urging visible steps to retain the NID under its jurisdiction. The commission agreed and sent a letter to the government on March 9. While we have received a response from the commission, we have yet to see any initiative from the government.”

“As part of our pre-announced program, we will proceed with the ‘Stand for NID’ campaign on March 13, organizing human chains at all election commission offices nationwide from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. If there is no response by then, we will announce a work abstention program,” he added.

Meanwhile, EC officials and employees have already changed their Facebook profile pictures to a specially designed photo card bearing the slogan ‘Stand for NID’ to express solidarity with the movement.