Penalties for negligence and misconduct in carrying out electoral duties are being increased. Election officials will no longer be allowed to refuse their duties without acceptable reasons. If they do, the financial penalty will be raised to Tk 100,000.
Under the existing law, if an election officer refuses to perform duties, the punishment is one year of imprisonment or a maximum fine of Tk 5,000, or both. Penalties for misconduct during electoral duty are also being made harsher.
These provisions have been included in the draft ordinance amending the Election Officer (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. On Thursday, the draft ordinance was approved at a meeting of the Interim Government’s Advisory Council.
Significant changes have been made to Sections 2, 5, and 6 of the Election Officer (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. These include a new definition of election officers, updated clauses on disciplinary measures, and the addition of new sub-sections.
The council also approved drafts of the Election Commission Secretariat (Amendment) Act, 2009 and the Financial Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2025. The national parliamentary election is scheduled for next February, and these amendments are being made ahead of it.
The meeting was held at the Chief Adviser’s Office in Tejgaon, Dhaka, chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus. Later, at a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, announced the council’s decisions.
The Press Secretary said the amendments to two election-related laws would make the Election Commission’s activities more dynamic and ensure accountability of officials responsible for conducting elections.
In particular, the provisions for punishment in case of negligence of electoral duties will become clearer. Significant changes have been made to Sections 2, 5, and 6 of the Election Officer (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. These include a new definition of election officers, updated clauses on disciplinary measures, and the addition of new sub-sections.
Under the existing law, refusal carries one year of imprisonment or a maximum fine of Tk 5,000, or both. Now, the financial penalty has been raised to Tk 100,000.
According to the amendment to the Election Officer (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, once a person is appointed as an election officer, they will not be allowed to refuse to perform their duties without acceptable reasons. Under the existing law, refusal carries one year of imprisonment or a maximum fine of Tk 5,000, or both. Now, the financial penalty has been raised to Tk 100,000.
If an officer commits misconduct in electoral duty, the existing law provides for six months’ imprisonment or a fine of Tk 2,000, or both. Under the new amendment, this has been increased to a minimum of one year to a maximum of five years of imprisonment, or a maximum fine of Tk 20,000, or both.
The draft ordinance states, “If any election officer intentionally fails or refuses to comply with any order or instruction of the Commission, or of any officer authorised by the Commission, or of the Returning Officer as applicable, or intentionally violates any provision of election-related laws, or commits any offense under them, or neglects duty, he shall be deemed guilty of misconduct. Such misconduct shall be considered an offense punishable under his service rules.”
The Advisory Council also approved the proposal to amend the Election Commission Secretariat Act, 2009. Two sections of the Act are being amended. In particular, Subsection (4) of Section 3, relating to the Election Commission Secretariat, is being replaced to establish an “Election Commission Service.”
Asked about this, Abdul Alim, a member of the Electoral Reform Commission, told Prothom Alo that the reform commission had proposed both measures. Currently, secretaries and some senior officials of the Election Commission Secretariat are appointed on deputation.
The problem is that the government sends them with a particular “mission.” Once the Election Commission Service is fully implemented, officials of the Secretariat will be able to rise through promotions up to the level of secretary. The Commission will then no longer need to depend on the government in this regard, he added.
At present, deputy commissioners are usually appointed as returning officers, and this has become a practice. He believes that once the Election Commission Service is introduced, trained officials of the Secretariat itself will be able to handle these duties.
On the amendment to the Election Officer (Special Provisions) Act, Abdul Alim said that an analysis of past flawed elections shows that, in most cases, field-level election officers and polling officials were negligent. Particularly, they acted under the instructions of the ruling party. With the new amendment, they will no longer dare to do so, as they will face harsher punishment.
Earlier, on 10 July, the government announced that Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus had instructed officials to examine whether presiding and polling officers involved in the last three controversial national elections could be excluded from appointments this time. Although it may not be possible in all cases, the instruction was to exclude as many as possible.
An analysis of past flawed elections shows that, in most cases, field-level election officers and polling officials were negligent. Particularly, they acted under the instructions of the ruling party. With the new amendment, they will no longer dare to do so, as they will face harsher punishment.
Implementation of 24 highly important reform proposals
At the press briefing, Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said that the Advisory Council discussed reform initiatives in detail. Progress on 77 highly important reforms out of 121 previously adopted proposals was reviewed. Among these, 24 have been implemented, 14 partially implemented, and the rest are in progress.
Shafiqul Alam said that apart from the proposals made by the Reform Commission, many more reforms have been implemented under the directives of various ministries and advisers. Each ministry and division has been instructed to quickly prepare and submit a list of reforms completed on their own initiative. By next month, a compilation booklet of these reforms will be published to present a complete picture of the reforms to the public.
Other decisions
Yesterday, the Advisory Council also approved the draft of the Financial Laws (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2025, prepared by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
According to a BSS report, under this ordinance, the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012 has been amended to allow VAT exemptions in specific cases through special orders. In addition, amendments to the Income Tax Act, 2023 have raised the source tax on investments in government securities or approved securities by corporate taxpayers from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Furthermore, a new provision has been added to treat taxes collected from commercially operated buses and transport sectors as final taxable income.