About FBCCI election 2010
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Manzur Ahmed
The biennial election of the Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) for the 2010-2012 is scheduled to be held by March 9. The Board of Directors of the FBCCI was required to constitute the Election Board and the Election Appeal Board to conduct the election.
But the Ministry of Commerce issued an order suspending the legally binding, under SRO 373 of 31/12/2002, FBCCI biennial election until further orders making it impossible for the incumbent FBCCI Board of Directors to hand over power, compulsorily as prescribed in SRO 373 of 31/12/2002, to the newly elected FBCCI Board of Directors within its tenure of office which expires on 24th March, 2010.
According to report published in the Financial Express on January 8, 2010, "The commerce ministry is going to change the regulations of the Trade Bodies Ordinance 1961 and a gazette notification in this regard will be issued soon."
FBCCI reform: At the extraordinary general meeting held on 28.06.07, the members of FBCCI general body resolved to restore direct election of the president, first vice president, vice president and all other directors of the FBCCI Board of Directors by its general body from amongst themselves and urged the government to amend the Trade Organisation Rules accordingly as no association has any lawful authority, neither under the Companies Act, 1994 nor the Trade Organisations Ordinance 1961, to elect a director of any other association.
But the Ministry of Commerce did not respond to the resolution of the extraordinary general meeting of the FBCCI to restore mandatory legal election procedures and sustain democratic values by ensuring direct election of the resident, first vice president, vice president and other directors of the Board of Directors by the FBCCI general body from amongst themselves. Instead, it appears that the ministry has taken an opposite course and the changes said to be proposed by the commerce ministry as reported in the newspapers are:
l Reduce the time frame for elections to 45 days from the existing 80 days.
l Raise the number of members in the board of directors of the FBCCI to 44 from the existing 38 members.
l 14 (existing 12) directors will be elected from the association group and 14 (existing 12) from the chamber group.
l 8 directors (existing 7) each from the chambers and associations will be nominated members of the FBCCI board.
According to the existing system, the Metropolitan Chamber and Chambers of six divisional cities from the Chamber group and Bangladesh Association of Banks, Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Aushad Shilpa Samity, Bangladesh Insurance Association, Bangladesh Jute Mills Association and Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association from the Association group can nominate their representatives as board members of the FBCCI.
In addition to above seven Chambers and Associations, the Bangladesh Chamber of Industry (BCI) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) are said to be empowered to nominate one director each to the FBCCI board by changing the regulations of the Trade Bodies Ordinance 1961.
The FBCCI and its affiliated trade bodies are "associations" within the meaning of the section 28 of the Companies Act, 1994, sections 2 (12) and 3 (2) of the Trade Organization Ordinance,1961 and registered under the Companies Act, 1994.
The Companies Act, 1994, Section 91 says: "Appointment of Directors: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the articles of a company - (b) the directors of the company shall be elected by the members of the company from amongst themselves in the General Meeting."
The above mandatory provision of Article 91 of the Companies Act, 1994 contradicts Section 7 of the Trade Organisation Ordinance which accords to any registered organisation the privilege to nominate directors to any other registered organisation.
The mandatory provision of Article 91 of the Companies Act, 1994 is binding on the FBCCI and all its affiliated trade bodies.
The proposal to reduce of the time frame for elections to 45 days from the existing 80 days to 45 days will be injudicious. Receiving subscription, nominations, scrutiny, preparation and publication of the voters' list, filing of objections on voters' list, hearing of appeal, disposal of appeal, publication of final voters' list, filing of nominations, scrutiny, publication of lists of candidates, filing of objections, hearing of appeal, disposal of appeal, preparation and printing of ballot papers with adequate working time gap in between cannot be completed in 45 days, especially in case of the FBCCI and other trade organisations which have membership all across Bangladesh. By abruptly reducing the time schedule to 45 days will jeopardise the whole election process.
In order to ensure smooth functioning of the FBCCI and its affiliated member bodies, the government should keep itself aloof from changing any rules relating to FBCCI and its affiliated member bodies at this point of time when the FBCCI election must be completed by March 9, 2010 as per law (SRO 373 Dated 30/12/2002).
Government may initiate a thorough review of the Trade Organisation Ordinance, 1961, Trade Organisation Rules, 1994 and Trade Organisation Arbitration Rules after the reconstitution of the FBCCI Board by holding election without any further delay on the basis of the existing election rules.
(The writer is a member of FBCCI General Body.)
The biennial election of the Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) for the 2010-2012 is scheduled to be held by March 9. The Board of Directors of the FBCCI was required to constitute the Election Board and the Election Appeal Board to conduct the election.
But the Ministry of Commerce issued an order suspending the legally binding, under SRO 373 of 31/12/2002, FBCCI biennial election until further orders making it impossible for the incumbent FBCCI Board of Directors to hand over power, compulsorily as prescribed in SRO 373 of 31/12/2002, to the newly elected FBCCI Board of Directors within its tenure of office which expires on 24th March, 2010.
According to report published in the Financial Express on January 8, 2010, "The commerce ministry is going to change the regulations of the Trade Bodies Ordinance 1961 and a gazette notification in this regard will be issued soon."
FBCCI reform: At the extraordinary general meeting held on 28.06.07, the members of FBCCI general body resolved to restore direct election of the president, first vice president, vice president and all other directors of the FBCCI Board of Directors by its general body from amongst themselves and urged the government to amend the Trade Organisation Rules accordingly as no association has any lawful authority, neither under the Companies Act, 1994 nor the Trade Organisations Ordinance 1961, to elect a director of any other association.
But the Ministry of Commerce did not respond to the resolution of the extraordinary general meeting of the FBCCI to restore mandatory legal election procedures and sustain democratic values by ensuring direct election of the resident, first vice president, vice president and other directors of the Board of Directors by the FBCCI general body from amongst themselves. Instead, it appears that the ministry has taken an opposite course and the changes said to be proposed by the commerce ministry as reported in the newspapers are:
l Reduce the time frame for elections to 45 days from the existing 80 days.
l Raise the number of members in the board of directors of the FBCCI to 44 from the existing 38 members.
l 14 (existing 12) directors will be elected from the association group and 14 (existing 12) from the chamber group.
l 8 directors (existing 7) each from the chambers and associations will be nominated members of the FBCCI board.
According to the existing system, the Metropolitan Chamber and Chambers of six divisional cities from the Chamber group and Bangladesh Association of Banks, Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Aushad Shilpa Samity, Bangladesh Insurance Association, Bangladesh Jute Mills Association and Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association from the Association group can nominate their representatives as board members of the FBCCI.
In addition to above seven Chambers and Associations, the Bangladesh Chamber of Industry (BCI) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) are said to be empowered to nominate one director each to the FBCCI board by changing the regulations of the Trade Bodies Ordinance 1961.
The FBCCI and its affiliated trade bodies are "associations" within the meaning of the section 28 of the Companies Act, 1994, sections 2 (12) and 3 (2) of the Trade Organization Ordinance,1961 and registered under the Companies Act, 1994.
The Companies Act, 1994, Section 91 says: "Appointment of Directors: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the articles of a company - (b) the directors of the company shall be elected by the members of the company from amongst themselves in the General Meeting."
The above mandatory provision of Article 91 of the Companies Act, 1994 contradicts Section 7 of the Trade Organisation Ordinance which accords to any registered organisation the privilege to nominate directors to any other registered organisation.
The mandatory provision of Article 91 of the Companies Act, 1994 is binding on the FBCCI and all its affiliated trade bodies.
The proposal to reduce of the time frame for elections to 45 days from the existing 80 days to 45 days will be injudicious. Receiving subscription, nominations, scrutiny, preparation and publication of the voters' list, filing of objections on voters' list, hearing of appeal, disposal of appeal, publication of final voters' list, filing of nominations, scrutiny, publication of lists of candidates, filing of objections, hearing of appeal, disposal of appeal, preparation and printing of ballot papers with adequate working time gap in between cannot be completed in 45 days, especially in case of the FBCCI and other trade organisations which have membership all across Bangladesh. By abruptly reducing the time schedule to 45 days will jeopardise the whole election process.
In order to ensure smooth functioning of the FBCCI and its affiliated member bodies, the government should keep itself aloof from changing any rules relating to FBCCI and its affiliated member bodies at this point of time when the FBCCI election must be completed by March 9, 2010 as per law (SRO 373 Dated 30/12/2002).
Government may initiate a thorough review of the Trade Organisation Ordinance, 1961, Trade Organisation Rules, 1994 and Trade Organisation Arbitration Rules after the reconstitution of the FBCCI Board by holding election without any further delay on the basis of the existing election rules.
(The writer is a member of FBCCI General Body.)