New ACC expected this month as search nears finish

The search committee tasked with reconstituting the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has entered the final phase of its work, with officials expressing confidence that a new chairman and commissioners will be appointed within this month, ending a leadership vacuum that has left the anti-graft body largely unable to perform its statutory functions.

Search committee member Justice Rajik-Al-Jalil told the Daily Sun that the panel had made substantial progress and was close to completing its recommendations.

“The work has not yet been completed, but it is in the final stage. It is unlikely to take much longer,” he said when asked about the progress of the selection process.

Asked whether the recommendations would be finalised this month, he replied, “Hopefully, yes.”

However, Justice Rajik-Al-Jalil declined to reveal how many names would be recommended or provide any details about the shortlisted candidates, citing the confidentiality of the process.

The government formed the search committee following the resignation of the previous ACC leadership to recommend candidates for the posts of chairman and commissioners. Since then, the panel has been reviewing applications,scrutinising potential nominees and consulting relevant stakeholders before finalising its recommendations.

Newly appointed ACC Secretary Md Saidur Rahman Khan also expressed optimism that the new commission would be constituted this month.

Speaking to journalists on his first working day as ACC secretary, he said the search committee had almost completed its task and the process was now moving forward through the government’s formal procedures.

“We can’t specify an exact date. However, we hope the commission will be formed very soon. Inshallah, we will have the new commission within this month,” he said.

Cabinet Division sources said the deadline for applications for the posts of ACC chairman and commissioners expired on 13 July, with more than 300 curricula vitae (CVs) submitted.

The committee has since been assessing candidates’ qualifications, professional experience and other credentials before preparing its final recommendations, the sources added.

The six-member search committee is headed by Appellate Division Justice Md Rezaul Haque. Its other members are High Court Justice Rajik-Al-Jalil, High Court Justice Farah Mahbub, Comptroller and Auditor General Nurul Islam, Public Service Commission Chairman Prof Dr Mobasser Monem, and former Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain.

Under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, the committee will recommend candidates for the posts of ACC chairman and two commissioners. A quorum requires at least four members, while recommendations must be approved by at least three members present. 

For each vacant post, the committee will recommend two candidates to the President, who will appoint the ACC chairman and commissioners from the recommended list.

The ACC has been without a chairman or commissioners since 3 March, when Chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen and the two commissioners resigned.

The absence of the commission’s top leadership has stalled key decisions, including the approval of new investigations, the filing of corruption cases and the endorsement of charge sheets, leaving the country’s principal anti-corruption watchdog largely unable to carry out its statutory responsibilities.