Parties satisfied, there are objections and dissents too

The political parties have no major objection to the proposals finalised by the Election Commission (EC) for the amendment of the Representation of People Order (RPO). Several parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have long been demanding the cancellation of voting through electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Therefore, these parties are satisfied as these demands have been included in the EC proposals. However, the leaders of these parties have objections and dissent on a few issues and have advised maintain cautiousness in some cases.

Several parties have raised objections to the proposal of receiving all sorts of donations through banks. They want the EC to reconsider this. In addition, the parties believe that the Election Commission should exercise extreme caution when using its authority to cancel voting for an entire constituency over allegations of irregularities.

The proposal of the RPO amendment was approved in an EC meeting held Monday. The BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Nagorik Oikya and Ganosamhati Andolan gave their reactions over the RPO amendment proposals on Tuesday.

The EC, in its final proposal, included the army, navy and air force in the definition of the law enforcement agencies. If it gets included in the law, then there would be no need to issue any separate order to deploy the members of three armed forces for electoral duties.

According to the proposals, the members of the armed forces can be deployed at polling centres and will be given magistracy power to arrest any offender without any warrant. The EC also placed several other proposals, including the provision for arrangement of ‘no vote’ in constituencies with a single candidate, increasing the EC’s authority to cancel votes, clarifying the provisions involving punishment of the polling officials and revoking all provisions centering the use of EVMs in the election.

As there is no parliament at the moment, these proposals will be placed before the council of advisers of the interim government for approval. These proposals will be part of the law once the president issues an ordinance after the government approval.

The EC proposes to specify the factors for examining the electoral expenditure, taking party donations through banks and mentioning that in the income tax return of the donor.

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed asked the EC to rethink about the matter.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said, “There is no problem taking donations through banks. However, it won’t be prudent to be rigid in this regard in all cases. The donation we collect from party activists and leaders is quite little. We have introduced a new system within the party to donate online and through banks. Apart from that, there should also be a provision of taking donations through receipts as many of the donors may not want to keep the record of the donation considering the political culture of the country. Therefore, it would be better to keep this on hold after some further consideration.

The Ganosamhati Andolan also raised some objections regarding this. Speaking regarding this to Prothom Alo, chief of the party Zonayed Saki said, “The EC has to specify the ceiling of donation for which the donor will have to mention it in their income tax return. Who will give the guarantee that the donor will not fall victim to political harassment for donating to one specific party?”

He also questioned how little donations of Tk 100-200 would be received.

AB Party chairman Mujibur Rahman Monju said the EC should show some flexibility in this regard. “The culture of vindictive politics won’t be changed overnight in Bangladesh. In that case, the donors will be afraid and feel uncomfortable. Therefore, the parties may provide false information.”

However, Jamaat completely agreed with the EC proposals for provisions of specifying electoral expense determining factors and taking donations through banks.

The party’s nayeb-e-amir Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher told Prothom Alo, “We don’t have any objection to this proposal.”

The Election Commission has proposed restoring its power to suspend and cancel election results. Under this proposal, the commission will be able to suspend polling or cancel results at one or more polling centres, or for an entire constituency, depending on the situation. In this regard, BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said that cancelling the results for an entire constituency requires sufficient evidence and investigation. The commission must exercise extreme caution in applying this power.

In this case, Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher also spoke of the need for caution. He said that in such situations, the risk of making allegations with ill intent remains. Therefore, this power must be exercised only after an investigation by the proper authorities.

The Election Commission has proposed restoring its power to suspend and cancel election results. Under this proposal, the commission will be able to suspend polling or cancel results at one or more polling centres, or for an entire constituency, depending on the situation. In this regard, BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said that cancelling the results for an entire constituency requires sufficient evidence and investigation. The commission must exercise extreme caution in applying this power.

In this case, Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher also spoke of the need for caution. He said that in such situations, the risk of making allegations with ill intent remains. Therefore, this power must be exercised only after an investigation by the proper authorities.

However, the NCP views this increase in the EC’s powers positively. The party’s member secretary, Akhtar Hossain, told Prothom Alo that in the past, there had been many instances of biased behaviour by election commission officials. There needs to be detailed guidelines on how to ensure accountability in such matters and how to make decisions fairly. If a candidate considers the decision to cancel the results to be unfair, there should be an opportunity to appeal.

The provision for casting a ‘no’ vote in an election, if voters did not favour any candidate, existed during the army-backed caretaker government (2007–08). It was abolished in 2009. The electoral reform commission, formed under the current interim government, has proposed reinstating this provision.

The EC’s proposal, however, suggests partially reinstating the ‘no’ vote, meaning that if there is only one candidate in a constituency, they will not be elected unopposed. Instead, the EC has proposed allowing voters to cast a ‘no’ vote against them.

BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed commented that since this will be implemented for the first time, its acceptability, correctness, and pros and cons will be seen in the future.

However, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikya, one of BNP’s allies in the simultaneous movement, told Prothom Alo that he personally saw no usefulness in the ‘no’ vote.

Jamaat and the NCP agree on the ‘no’ vote. According to Jamaat leader Abdullah Mohammad Taher, the practice of being elected unopposed needs to stop, as it does not happen naturally and there are many factors behind it.

NCP member secretary Akhtar Hossain told Prothom Alo, “We view the inclusion of the ‘no’ vote provision very positively. However, it would have been better if it applied to all cases, not just single-candidate contests.”

The EC has proposed that if a party contests an election as part of an alliance, it should still participate under its own symbol. The BNP has no objection to this, saying the EC’s proposal has clarified the matter.

Nagorik Oikya president Mahmudur Rahman Manna also considers the proposal a good one. He said that if a party contests under another party’s symbol in a coalition, it cannot familiarise voters with its own symbol.

Mujibur Rahman Monju of the AB Party believes that if implemented and sustained, the proposal would yield positive results in the long run.

However, Jamaat opposes this EC proposal. Jamaat leader Abdullah Mohammad Taher feels that parties should have the freedom to decide on this matter and should not be compelled.

The Ganosamhati Andolan also objects to the proposal. Its leader Zonayed Saki said parties should have the freedom to decide on their symbol while participating in the polls under an alliance.

Several parties, including the BNP, NCP and Jamaat, have responded positively to the proposal to classify the armed forces as a ‘law enforcement agency’ with magistracy powers.

However, NCP leader Akhtar Hossain believes there should be clear guidelines to ensure this never leads to unlawful activities or deviations from the law.

Jamaat’s Abdullah Mohammad Taher said the EC should be able to deploy the armed forces under the law as it deems necessary, but warned that using them like a regular force over the long term might not yield good results.

Nagorik Oikya president Mahmudur Rahman Manna felt that the proposal to enhance the armed forces’ powers during elections is still not entirely clear. He suggested the government may be taking this step because it has failed to effectively use the police.

The Islami Andolan, led by the Charmonai Pir, believes all of the EC’s proposals are good and well-intentioned, but expressed doubts over the commission’s ability to implement them in practice.

The party’s senior joint secretary general, Gazi Ataur Rahman, told Prothom Alo: “Many of the EC’s proposals were also our demands, and we view them positively. But the big question—the concern—is whether they will be able to enforce the law properly.”