The Election Commission (EC) has proposed to regain its authority to suspend or cancel the entire election result of a parliamentary constituency in case of irregularities.
“Now we have the authority to cancel the election results of one or more polling stations in case of irregularities. What we lack is the authority to stop the entire constituency's election, which (that power) was taken away earlier. We’ve now proposed to get it back,” said Election Commissioner Abdul Fazal Md Sanaullah on Thursday.
He said this while briefing reporters about the outcomes of the Commission's six-hour meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital.
Sanaullah expressed the hope that the EC would get back the authority it previously enjoyed.
The proposal comes as part of the commission’s initiative to amend the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972 ahead of the next national election.
In 2023, ahead of the 12th parliamentary election, the then Awami League government amended the RPO, curtailing the EC’s authority to suspend or cancel the entire result of a constituency election, a move that drew strong criticism from opposition parties.
According to the existing RPO, the EC now can suspend the results of only those (one or more) polling stations where irregularities have been reported after the failure of law enforcement agencies to stop anomalies.
But the commission cannot suspend or cancel the entire election result of a constituency due to irregularities in one or some polling station.
The amendment came after the Election Commission cancelled the Gaibandha-5 parliamentary by-election due to irregularities.
The commission now seeks to restore the pre-2023 authority that allowed it to call off an entire constituency’s election if needed, as part of broader electoral reforms being considered before the upcoming polls.
The Election Commission has formed five committees to speed up necessary preparations ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election likely to be held early next year.
The five separate seven-member coordination committees, formed on Wednesday, are headed by different election commissioners.
The EC senior secretary and the additional secretary are members on all the five committees.
Election Commissioner Tahmida Ahmad is leading a monitoring committee for the preparation of polling officer panels and training programmes.
This committee’s members also include the EC’s NID Registration Wing Director General, two joint secretaries and a deputy secretary.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud is leading a monitoring and coordination committee for electoral laws, rules, policies and the activities of the electoral inquiry bodies.
Its other members include two joint secretaries and two deputy secretaries.
Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah is the chairman of a coordination committee over Out of Country Voting (OCV) and Local and Foreign Observers.
The committee members also include a joint secretary, a deputy secretary, the public relation director and the ICT system manager.
Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker is the head of a committee for coordination with the field administration over the electoral activities.
The EC’s NID Registration Wing Director General, two joint secretaries and a deputy secretary are also on the committee.
Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah is also leading another committee for field-level law and order coordination and monitoring during the election.
The Project Director of the EC’s IDEA Project (Phase-II), two joint secretaries and a deputy secretary are also made the members of the committee.
On Wednesday Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus directed the agencies concerned to complete all necessary preparations by December to ensure a peaceful national election.
The directive came in a meeting at the State Guest House Jamuna in the capital. Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, chiefs and high officials of different law enforcement agencies and other concerned departments were present in the meeting.
At the meeting, there were discussions over the deployment of law enforcement members for seven days to maintain law and order during the election period - before, during and after the polls.
A total of some 8 lakh Ansars and law enforcement members will be engaged in the next general election.
The Chief Adviser also instructed to take preparation for bringing some 16,000 vulnerable polling stations out of possible 47,000 voting stations throughout the country under CCTV monitoring network as well as for installation of cameras on the body of police members in the polling stations in a bid to ensure peaceful balloting.
