The Election Commission (EC) has severed its agreement with the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) regarding the provision of National Identity Card (NID) services, citing a breach of contract.
In addition to terminating the agreement, the EC has requested the settlement of outstanding dues within the next 15 days, said EC's NID Department Director General ASM Humayun Kabir on Sunday (22 December).
He stated that 183 government and private entities currently use NID data verification services provided by the Election Commission. Among them, the BCC is a significant client. On 4 October 2022, the BCC signed a bilateral agreement with the EC to access data verification services.
According to the contract, the BCC was prohibited from transferring, exchanging, selling, or providing the data to any other individual, entity, party, or organisation in any form. However, the BCC breached this clause.
On 3 September this year, the EC sought an explanation from the BCC regarding the breach.
The council refrained from responding. Subsequently, on 6 October, the EC issued a directive requiring a reply within three working days.
The response submitted by the BCC was deemed unsatisfactory by the EC.
Additionally, the BCC failed to pay the applicable fees and charges within the stipulated time as per the agreement, leading the EC to consider the contract voidable.
The EC has terminated the agreement and disconnected the BCC's API connection.
