EC's powers will be curtailed if RPO Amendment Bill is passed: TIB
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed concern that the power of the Election Commission (EC) will be further eroded if the Representation of the People Order (RPO) Amendment Bill is passed in the Jatiyo Sangsad (JS).
The agency commented that if the proposed amendment is passed, the power to cancel the ongoing election in any electoral area will be taken away from the commission if it is considered justified due to the violation of the electoral law.
In a press release on Friday (June 9), TIB said, according to the news published in the media, the Election Commission is going to lose this power according to the revised RPO raised in the JS.
It should be noted that Section 91(a) of the existing People's Representation Order states that if the Election Commission is satisfied that due to various existing malpractices including use of force, intimidation and pressure in the election, it will not be able to ensure the conduct of the election in a reasonable, fair and lawful manner, any polling station [ or, as the case may be, in the entire constituency] may stop the election process including taking of votes at any stage of the election. The proposed amendment proposes to restrict the commission's powers to canceling the polling of the polling station concerned, by effectively deleting the provision that it may "stop polling at any stage of the election at any polling station or, as the case may be, the entire constituency". As a result, if this amendment becomes a law, the commission will not have the power to stop constituency-wise elections in applicable cases.
TIB's executive director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman referring to the matter as a "wound on the neck" in the electoral system. Iftekharuzzaman said that the commission announced the postponement of the by-election of Gaibandha-5 seat after observing the election on CCTV camera in October last year. This amendment vindicates the impression created by many observers that this move by the Commission may cause anxiety to the ruling party. Instead of 'election' proposed in the amendment, 'polling' is not only a word change, but its scope is much more. If the power of the commission is curtailed by the passage of this bill, it will intensify the crisis of lack of confidence in the possibility of free, fair, participatory and impartial elections in the country.
The Executive Director of TIB said, except for a couple of exceptions like Gaibandha-5, the logic behind the expectation that the Election Commission will be able to organize fair and acceptable elections is rare; Especially where the possibility of a neutral and conflict-of-interest role of relevant authorities including the electoral government, law enforcement agencies and administration, like illusion, the existing legal capacity of this amendment commission is nothing but an initiative to consolidate the existing legal capacity for their own interests. It is undemocratic and unconstitutional to curtail the powers of the commission to prevent electoral irregularities. Not only this, the proposed amendment has increased the scope for debtors and defaulters. In the existing order, there is a provision to submit copies of bank loan and various service bill payments seven days before submission of nomination papers, but in the amendment, that opportunity has been kept till the day before submission of nomination papers. In view of the situation, the idea that debtors and defaulters are being encouraged to vote is not at all unreasonable.
The TIB called for the rejection of the said amendment proposal. In addition, the organization called for specific initiatives for legal and institutional reforms to ensure the neutral and conflict-of-interest role of the relevant authorities including the electoral government, law enforcement agencies and administration for the sake of exercising people's right to vote in free, fair, participatory and impartial elections.