EC’s proposal to amend electoral law incomplete: Shujan

Civic organisation Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) has alleged that the proposal sent by the Election Commission to the Law Ministry to amend the Election Commission Representation of the People Order, 1972 (RPO) is incomplete.

"The proposals raised in the commission's dialogue with political parties were not taken into consideration in the proposal sent, Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder said at a virtual press conference on Saturday.

He said that the 17 sections proposed by the commission to amend the RPO are important but some more proposals need to be added to make elections fair and meaningful such as the re-introduction of "no-vote", amending the affidavit to include information including detail of candidates' source of income and their dependents, the inclusion of clear provisions in the RPO to disqualify nomination papers with false information in the affidavit.

Besides, it is also important to include in the RPO the obligation to reduce the election expenses and verify the accounts of the election expenses of every candidate. The provision of verifying the audits of political parties and ensuring the voting rights of Bangladeshi citizens living abroad should also be included in the RPO, he added.

Shujan alleged that the biggest obstacle to holding fair, impartial and credible elections is the lack of full implementation of the existing rules.

Badiul Alam said it is illegal for registered political parties to have wings, affiliates and foreign branches as per the RPO, although almost all parties have them. Strict enforcement of this provision is essential. Besides, the provision of online submission of the affidavit must be taken effectively.

Regarding the caretaker government, the Shujan secretary said that by unilaterally abolishing a settled system like the caretaker government, the law has been turned into a weapon. As a result, two successive failed elections were held in the country under the "party government". All past elections held under them were unacceptable.

He said the caretaker government system could be reintroduced if political parties also want it. But the Election Commission has to come forward because arranging free and fair elections is their mandate.

Eminent jurist Shahdeen Malik said, "Article 111 of the Constitution has made it mandatory for everyone to obey the verdict of the Supreme Court. What the Supreme Court has said has already become law. Therefore, even if the commission is given the power to cancel the election by the court's ruling, what is the purpose of seeking amendment of the law again?"

"The amendment should have been proposed based on the views of the stakeholders by preparing and publishing a report on the proposals that came out of the commission's dialogue with the political parties," he added.

Shujan Central Executive Member Tofail Ahmed claimed that a large part of the country lives abroad. A postal ballot should be provided for these voters. Besides, the responsibility of organising local government elections is not within the constitutional mandate of the commission, but it has been fulfilling this responsibility for a long time. Therefore, the responsibility of conducting local government elections should be included in the commission's mandate.