Passing RPO bill will curtail EC’s power: TIB
If the Representation of the People Order amendment bill that has been placed in the Jatiya Sangsad is passed, the Election Commission’s power will be reduced even further, believes Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
In a statement sent to the media on Friday, TIB termed the Representation of the People Order (RPO) amendment bill as an additional blow.
TIB believes, if the proposed amendment is passed, the power the Election Commission (EC) has of annulling election in any constituency for crossing the electoral law, if considered logical, will be taken away. So they have called for the amendment bill to be revoked.
The amendment bill of Representation of the People Order was placed in the Jatiya Sangsad last Monday (5 June).
Regarding this proposal, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said in the statement, “In October last year, the commission had suspended the by-election of Gaibandha-5 constituency, finding proof of irregularities while witnessing the election on CCTV cameras.”
“Many observers had assumed that this action of the commission may become a concern for the ruling party and this amendment seems to prove that belief,” he added.
Iftekharuzzaman stated that mentioning the word ‘polling’ instead of ‘election' in the proposed amendment is not only a change of vocabulary, it’s far more significant.
If the Election Commission’s power is curtailed by passing this bill, it will further intensify the crisis of lack of confidence in the possibility of a free, fair, participatory and impartial election in the country, he added.
The statement said that this amendment is nothing but an initiative to further limit the existing legal power of the Election Commission for personal interests. It’s undemocratic and unconstitutional to curtail commission’s power to prevent electoral irregularities.
Not only that, the proposed amendment offers even more room for loan defaulters and bill defaulters.
The existing order provides has a rule to submit copies of bank loan and bills of various services seven days prior to the submission of nomination papers.
But the amendment proposes to extend the deadline to submit those papers till the day before submission of nomination papers. So it seems apparent that loan and bill defaulters are being encouraged to contest in the polls.