Reform commission heads brief CA Yunus on progress

Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus met with the heads of the various commissions established to advance state reform efforts.

The meeting was held at the chief adviser's office in Tejgaon, Dhaka on Monday.

Public Administration

Abdul Mueed Chowdhury, head of the Public Administration Reform Commission, updated the chief adviser on the commission’s active engagement.

“We’ve started collecting public feedback through our website, and commission members have visited districts and upazilas to exchange views directly with citizens,” he said.

Chowdhury added that discussions with public administration cadres were ongoing and expressed confidence that the commission would deliver its report on time.

Police Reform

Safar Raj Hossain, chair of the Police Reform Commission, briefed Dr Yunus on his team’s progress.

"We’ve conducted 10 internal meetings, plus four with key stakeholders. A questionnaire seeking public opinion is available online," he said.

Proposals to amend specific laws and simplify processes are underway, as well as an initiative to review crowd control tactics and update sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Election Commission

Badiul Alam Majumdar, head of the Electoral Reform Commission, shared developments regarding election reforms, including measures to ensure voting rights for expatriates, postal ballots for absentee voters, and alignment of voter lists with national IDs.

“We’re focused on boosting women’s participation in the electoral process and have used digital platforms to gather stakeholder feedback,” he explained.

About the commissions

The interim government has formed 10 commissions to oversee reforms across various sectors. The electoral, police, judiciary, anti-corruption, public administration, and constitution reform commissions were established in the first phase, with heads including Majumdar, Hossain, Justice Shah Abu Naeem Mominur Rahman, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Chowdhury, and Professor Ali Riaz, respectively.

Four additional commissions were subsequently created – the Health Reforms Commission led by National Professor Dr AK Azad Khan, the Media Reforms Commission chaired by columnist Kamal Ahmed, the Labour Rights Reforms Commission headed by Syed Sultanuddin Ahmed of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, and the Women Affairs Commission led by Shireen Parveen Haque.