The government has reassigned 33 joint secretaries as Officers on Special Duty (OSD) due to their roles as Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Returning Officers in the controversial 2018 national elections.
These officials, who were sub-secretaries at the time, have since been promoted to joint secretary positions and were serving in various ministries and departments.
The Ministry of Public Administration issued separate notifications on Wednesday ordering their reassignments. According to Public Relations Officer Md. Mansur Hossain, all 33 officials have been transferred and designated as OSD under the ministry.
Officials from the Ministry of Public Administration stated that these individuals had served as Deputy Commissioners in 2018 and were responsible for overseeing election processes during the 11th National Election.
The elections of 2014 and 2024 were boycotted by the opposition BNP-Jamaat alliance and other like-minded groups. However, in 2018, opposition parties participated but later alleged that the ruling Awami League had manipulated the results by pre-filling ballot boxes the night before voting.
Following the change in government, the Election System Reform Commission summoned 30 returning officers and assistant returning officers on December 9 to provide accounts of election irregularities across the 10th, 11th, and 12th parliamentary elections.
During these hearings, the commission’s chairman, Badiul Alam Majumder, remarked that the summoned officials described their experiences, claiming that they had little control over election outcomes, as higher authorities dictated proceedings.
Lower-ranking officials even questioned their superiors' roles in the alleged irregularities, stating that the country had functioned as a "police state" during that period.
