Other opposition parties expressed their shock and frustration at the appointment and came down hard on the government for the "unilateral appointment without any consultation with them".

The opposition leaders said the people were expecting of the government to appoint a new CEC acceptable to all through discussions with the opposition parties. The arbitrary appointment will deepen the political crisis, they observed.

"We are rejecting the unilateral appointment of Justice MA Aziz as Chief Election Commissioner," AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil said yesterday evening.

"We, all the people of the country, were expecting that the government would appoint the chief election commissioner on the basis of a consensus," he said while briefing reporters after a meeting of senior party leaders with AL chief Sheikh Hasina.

Jalil said the unilateral appointment is part of the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami-led ruling coalition's blueprint to get re-elected to office through vote rigging.

"The government has made a party man president and increased the retirement age of the High Court judges to have another party man as chief adviser to the caretaker government," Jalil said.

"In their (ruling coalition) last effort to politicise the Election Commission, the government has made the unilateral appointment of the chief election commissioner ignoring all demands of democratic forces and the people as well," he said.

The AL general secretary said the government did not take a single initiative to get opinions of the opposition parties on the issue. "But, in the appointment of the last chief election commissioner during the Awami League government, the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina sent two letters to the then opposition leader, but they did not discuss the issue," he added.

Asked if a fresh movement would be waged against the new CEC, Jalil said, "We are in movement against the government and it will continue."

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman HM Ershad said he has no doubt about the competence of Justice MA Aziz since he is a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. However, many may ask if he is partisan, Ershad added.

Chairman of the other JP faction Anwar Hossain Manju said it was the expectation of the people that the government policymakers would discuss the issue with political parties before appointing anyone to the important office.

President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh Manjurul Ahsan Khan said the government should have discussed the matter with political parties before making the appointment. The CPB would give its detailed reaction later, he added.

Rejecting the appointment of the new CEC, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haq Inu said the government has appointed the CEC unilaterally and hurriedly in an ill motive ahead of the next general elections.

"The government could have consulted the mainstream opposition parties to avoid any debate over or stalemate centring the new chief election commissioner," Inu noted.

Workers Party General Secretary Bimal Biswas also criticised the government for making the unilateral appointment and said it will deepen the political crisis.

"We, the opposition parties, had been urging the government for discussions before the appointment of the new chief election commissioner who will be acceptable to all," he said.

"The unilateral appointment has created scope for one to say that the BNP-Jamaat-led coalition has made a person Chief Election Commissioner who is loyal to them," he added.