Former CEC Rauf proposes proportional voting, conducting national and local elections together

Former chief election commissioner Justice Abdur Rauf has proposed conducting national elections in a proportional system.

In a meeting with the Electoral Reform Commission today (20 November), he also proposed conducting the national and local elections together to reduce costs.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said, "In the proportional system, people will vote for a party and not for any single candidate. Suppose nine crore voters vote in the national election among the total 12 crore voters. If there are 300 parliamentary seats, then 3 lakh votes will be needed for a party to grab a seat. So, if a party gets three lakh votes, one of its candidates will get a seat in the parliament, if it gets six lakh, two of its candidates will get seats, and so on."

If votes are given to the parties instead of candidates, nomination trade can be stopped, he also said.

Asked whether there is a need to eliminate the parliamentary system, Rauf said, "The parliamentary system should remain. There is no need to bring the bicameral American system now. Elections should be simplified as much as possible."

Speaking on the occasion, Badiul Alam Majumdar, head of the Electoral System Reform Commission, told reporters that the reform commission will give an acceptable proposal to the interim government after considering all the proposals the commission receives from various individuals and institutions.