Amended RPO passed at parliament to cut EC‍‍`s power

The Jatiya Sangsad (JS) has passed Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill 2023 expecting the  amended law to ensure free, fair and acceptable national elections.

It comes with the key amendment authorizing the Election Commission to postpone or cancel the results or voting of one or more than one polling stations in any number of constituencies on polling day, but not the entire election to a constituency.

Law Minister Anisul Huq moved the Bill in the House with Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair on Tuesday.

Opposition lawmakers including Jatiya Party‍‍`s Fakhrul Imam, Pir Fazlur Rahman, Rawshan Ara Manan and Gono Forum lawmaker Mokabbir Khan brought some amendments to the Bill.

"The proposed act is essential to establish a strong foundation for holding a free, fair and impartial national election," the minister said while placing 
the Bill.

As per the new provision, the Election Commission has been empowered to postpone or cancel the result of one or more than one polling station at any time during balloting (polling day) or ballot counting, due to use of muscle power or any other reason.

But there is no provision of cancelling the entire election to a constituency in the proposed law- as happened during the Gaibandha-5 by-election last October.

The law previously stated, in Section 91A of the RPO, that the Commission may "stop the polls at any polling station

The amendment replaced the word “election” in this section with “polling”.

After that paragraph, a new paragraph is included in the amended RPO. The new paragraph is — “The Commission may withhold the result of any polling station or polling stations, if it is convinced that the result of such polling station or polling stations was grossly prejudiced by malpractices including coercion, intimidation, manipulation or otherwise, and after prompt inquiry of the matter, in a manner as it may deem appropriate, direct publication of the result of such polling station or polling stations or declare the election of any such polling station or polling stations cancelled with direction for holding of a fresh poll in such polling station or polling stations, as that may seem to it to be just and appropriate.”

The issue of punishing the offenders in hampering the media from performing their “lawful” duty during the election is also in the new provision.

The amended RPO also includes a new paragraph where it says that "If a person by threat, intimidation, hurt or otherwise by application of force, obstructs or tries to obstruct any person performing duties in connection with any election under this Order, or obstructs or tries to obstruct any representative of media or observer authorised by the Commission in connection with any election under this Order, and/or does any harm to his body or damage to his equipment related to performance of duty or prevents or tries to prevent any voter from going to polling station to cast vote or any candidate from submitting nomination paper, or compels or tries to compel any candidate to withdraw nomination paper, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall not be less than two years, and also with fine.”

In another major change, whereas in the previous RPO the decision of a returning officer regarding cancellation of a nomination paper could be challenged, as per the amended law, the decision of a returning officer that declared a nomination paper valid can also be challenged.

Appeal can be made against any decision of a returning officer regarding both cancellation and acceptance of nomination papers.

An MP aspirant cannot be a loan defaulter and he needs to clear all due instalments, and utility bills before the date of submission of the nomination papers. The aspirant needs to attach a TIN certificate and receipts of tax payment with a nomination paper as well.

As per the amended RPO, the EC can appoint a returning officer for one or more constituencies. It has been made constituency-based also, whereas it was previously district-based.

The changes will be in effect for the next parliamentary elections due by January 2024.

Criticizing the proposed Bill, opposition lawmaker Fakhrul Imam of Mymensingh-8 said that the new amended Bill could restrict the liberty of the 
election commission (EC) as the new law could be exercised on the particular polling centers where the violence would take place instead of all the 
polling centers in a particular constituency.

Ahead of the national elections, the opposition lawmakers said the law will bar the EC to use its absolute power.