As the news reached the commission premises on Monday, a number of officials considered very close to Zakaria, the immediate past secretary to the EC Secretariat, burst into applause and moved immediately for celebrating the appointment.

Some of them rushed to the Supreme Court premises where Zakaria was taking oath while some others withdrew Tk 10,000 from the secretariat for flowers and sweetmeats to rejoice over the appointment. They, however, did not submit any application for the amount, sources said.

The majority of the officials at the EC Secretariat were in fact waiting for Zakaria to retire from the service. They felt compelled to congratulate the new commissioner with a smile for fear of backlash from the pro-Zakaria camp, which is set to dominate the secretariat because of the latest developments, added the sources.

"We don't know what fate awaits us," a senior official told The Daily Star, wishing anonymity. Expressing apprehension about the future, another official said, "We better be leaving the job soon to keep our dignity intact."

Meanwhile, in yet another hasty move Mohammad Zakoria, a joint secretary of the secretariat, was elevated to the post of additional secretary Sunday and was given temporary charge of the secretary to the EC Secretariat the next day.

Zakoria has all along been very close to Election Commissioner Zakaria, officials said.

Another senior assistant secretary is likely to be promoted to the rank of deputy secretary soon as a reward for maintaining close ties with Zakaria, they added.

Besides the officials, Class-III and -IV employees at the EC Secretariat were also busy yesterday congratulating SM Zakaria with bouquets.

A number of officials from the Election Training Institute and Dhaka district election office yesterday came to the EC premises to congratulate Zakaria.

Justice Mahfuzur Rahman, the other newly appointed election commissioner, however was not received that warmly when he arrived at the commission yesterday.

Zakaria, who joined the EC Secretariat on April 1, 2002, had been engaged in a severe conflict with the former chief election commissioner (CEC) MA Syed. He had avoided EC meetings during the last two years of Syed's tenure.

The former CEC on several occasions had requested the government to withdraw Zakaria from EC Secretariat and appoint a new one. But the government took no heed of the call and instead gave him [Zakaria] a year's extension after his contract ran out in February last year.

His relations with the two election commissioners, M Munsef Ali and AK Mohammad Ali, got strained as the latter did not approve of the then secretary's bunking off the EC meetings.

When Syed was replaced by MA Aziz as the CEC in May last year, situation at the commission took a new turn. Soon the secretary became very close to the new CEC and took the secretariat completely under his control.

The rift between him and the two election commissioners had gone so far that he at one stage stopped the payment of medical bills and entertainment allowances submitted by Munsef Ali and Mohammad Ali.