Dhaka, Jan 16 (V7N)-The National Identity Registration Act, 2023 (Act No. 40 of 2023), which had transferred the responsibility of national identity registration from the Election Commission (EC) to the Ministry of Home Affairs' Security Services Division, has been repealed.
This move has reinstated the NID process under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission.
A senior official from the Election Commission confirmed the development to Dhaka Post on Thursday.
The transfer of the NID process to the Ministry of Home Affairs was originally proposed by the previous Awami League government in 2023 through the enactment of the National Identity Registration Act, 2023.
The law had included a provision that the NID process would remain under the EC until the government issued a notification to transfer it. As per the law, the process has continued under the EC despite the legislation passed last year.
The decision to return the NID process to the EC follows consistent demands from civil society, interim government advisors, and the general public. They had raised concerns about the shift in authority and called for the repeal of the 2023 law.
The Election Commission has long maintained that overseeing the NID process falls within its constitutional remit. According to Article 119(1) of the Constitution, the Election Commission is responsible for supervising the preparation of voter lists for presidential and parliamentary elections.
This includes the collection of data, updating the voter list, and managing related tasks, which also involve the issuance of national identity cards.
The Election Commission reiterated in a letter to the Cabinet Secretary that the NID process is integral to the preparation of the voter list for national and local government elections.
They pointed out that, in line with the Voter List Act, 2009, and the Voter List Rules, 2012, there is a requirement for door-to-door collection of data for voter registration. As a result, the NID process is fundamentally linked to the EC's core duties.
The controversy surrounding the transfer of the NID process began in 2021 when the government moved to place it under the Ministry of Home Affairs' Security Services Division.
While the Election Commission had previously expressed its concerns, including in a letter to the Cabinet Secretary in June 2021, the National Identity Registration Act, 2023 was enacted in September of that year, effectively repealing the previous NID law from 2010.
Despite this legislative change, the law had not been fully implemented, as it lacked a gazette notification required to make it effective. This legal loophole allowed the NID process to remain under the Election Commission, as per Section 30(3) of the National Identity Registration Act, 2023.
Following this, the Election Commission formally requested the Presidential Office in September 2023 to take necessary steps to repeal the law and ensure the NID process remained under their management.
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