Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad

Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad (born 2 December 1943) is a retired Bangladeshi civil servant and former Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh.

Early life A veteran freedom fighter, Ahmad was born in Chuadanga on 2 December 1943.

Career During the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971, Ahmad served in the Mujibnagar government as Sub Divisional Officer, Brahmanbaria and was Deputy Secretary and Zonal Administrative Officer under the First Bangladesh Government in Mujibnagar. After the Independence of Bangladesh, he joined the Bangladeshi civil service.

Ahmad served as the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Cumilla district, Director General of NGO Affairs Bureau, Chairman of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh and Chairman of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation. He served as Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Secretary, Ministry of Education and Secretary to the Bangladesh Parliament (Jatiya Sangshad).

Ahmad presided over the 5 January 2014 general election in Bangladesh, which was boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He oversaw the 2016 countrywide Zila Parishad election. Under Ahmad's leadership, the Election Commission (EC) launched the distribution of machine-readable smart national identity (NID) cards among 10 crore citizens, replacing the existing paper-laminated cards and updated the voter list.

Ahmad's term as the Chief Election Commissioner ended on 9 February 2017.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, a sedition case was filed against Ahmad along with other former Election Commissioners in September 2024. A travel ban was imposed on Ahmad in August 2025 along with other former Election Commissioners. Bangladesh Nationalist Party filed a case against him in June 2025.