Draft law empowers Home Ministry to issue NIDs

Staff Reporter :
Amid objections from the Election Commission (EC), the Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the ‘National Identity (NID) Registration Bill, 2023’ handing over the authority to issue national identity cards to the Home Ministry from the EC.
The approval was given at the regular weekly Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her Tejgaon office. After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain briefed the media on the meeting outcomes in Cabinet conference room at the Secretariat.

Mahbub Hossain said once the draft bill is passed in the Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad), the Home Ministry will establish a registering authority responsible for issuing National IDs, while the Election Commission will focus on preparing and updating the voters’ list.
On May 17 in 2021, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) sent a letter to the Cabinet Division asking it to take necessary steps to handover the activities of issuance of NIDs to the Home Ministry from the EC. The Cabinet Division sent a letter to the EC and Security Services Division (SSD) on May 24 that year.

In the letter, the Cabinet Division mentioned various reasons of handing over the authority to the Home Ministry from the EC and opined to handover it.
According to the draft law, birth registration must be completed immediately after a child’s birth, and it will be treated as the National Identity (NID) Number later. When individuals reachthe age of 18, they will be included in the voters’ list based on their National ID number.

The Cabinet Secretary also confirmed that the existing national identity card numbers held by citizens will remain valid. Those who currently do not possess a national identity card will be registered under the new law. But, the ongoing registration process will continue under the current system until the new law is implemented and a new registration authority is formed.
Furthermore, the new law will not take effect immediately after its passage in the Parliament. The government will need to make an announcement for it to become effective with a specific deadline.