The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh has accused the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) of violating the terms of an agreement regarding the verification of National Identity Card (NID) data. As a result, the EC has terminated its contract with the BCC for NID services and requested the settlement of all outstanding payments within 15 days.

According to the Director General of NID under the EC, A.S.M. Humayun Kabir, the EC currently provides NID data verification services to 183 government and private organizations, including the BCC. The EC and BCC signed a bilateral agreement on October 4, 2022, which strictly prohibited the transfer, exchange, sale, or provision of NID data to any third party under any circumstances. However, BCC reportedly breached this condition.

The EC sought an explanation from BCC on September 3, 2024, but BCC failed to respond. Following a final request for clarification on October 6, 2024, BCC provided a reply deemed unsatisfactory by the EC. Furthermore, BCC’s failure to pay applicable fees within the stipulated time led the EC to consider the agreement void. Consequently, the EC has disconnected BCC’s API access for NID verification services.