Dhaka, Mar 18 (V7N) – Election Commission (EC) workers have postponed their planned ‘Operational Halt’ program scheduled for Wednesday, citing concerns over disrupting National Parliament election preparations and the potential suffering of expatriates.

Mohammad Monir Hossain, convener of the Bangladesh Election Commission Officers Association, announced the decision at a press conference at the Election Building in Agargaon on Tuesday.

The government’s move to establish a Civil Registration Commission for managing National Identity (NID) services and the Electoral Reforms Commission’s proposal for a separate National Citizen Data Commission have drawn opposition from EC workers.

In response, EC employees launched the ‘Stand for NID’ protest last Thursday, demanding that NID services remain under the Election Commission and calling for the repeal of the National Identity Registration Act, 2023.

If their demands were not met, EC staff had planned to enforce an ‘Operational Halt’ strike on March 19.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Monir Hossain stated that the EC leadership is actively addressing their concerns, noting that the Election Commission has formally recommended to the government that NID services remain under its jurisdiction.

“The EC secretariat’s senior secretary has assured us that steps are being taken to address our concerns. Therefore, in the interest of the public and trusting these assurances, we have decided to postpone the operational halt,” he said.

However, EC Training Institute Director General SM Asaduzzaman warned that if their demands are not met, workers may announce a ‘complete shutdown’ program in the future.

EC officials argue that past dialogues with stakeholders supported keeping the voter list and NID services together under the Election Commission.

In 2023, a previous attempt to transfer NID services to the Ministry of Home Affairs failed after opposition from various quarters. While the interim government initially decided to keep NID under the EC, recent moves to establish a separate commission have raised fresh concerns.

With the National Parliament elections approaching, the issue remains critical, and future protests could disrupt election-related activities.

END/MSS/AJ