Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
The Election Commission (EC) has terminated its contract with the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) for national identification (NID) data verification services due to a breach of terms.
ASM Humayun Kabir, director general of the National Identity Registration Wing at the commission, made the disclosure while talking to reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban on Sunday.
Humayun said 183 government and private institutions are currently utilising NID data verification services, with the BCC being one of the key stakeholders.
The bilateral agreement between the commission and BCC, signed on October 4, 2022, prohibited the BCC from transferring, exchanging, selling or providing NID data to any third party. However, the BCC violated these terms.
On September 3, the Election Commission sought clarification from the BCC regarding the breach, but the response provided was unsatisfactory.
The BCC was given a three-day deadline starting from October 6 to clarify the situation, yet the explanation offered was still deemed inadequate.
Besides, the contract stipulated that failure to pay the agreed fees within the specified timeframe would result in the cancellation of the agreement. The commission, therefore, decided to terminate the contract with the BCC and sever the API connection.
The BCC has been instructed to settle all outstanding dues to the commission within 15 days of receiving the notice.
