No more uncontested election as EC seeks to reinstate 'no vote' on ballots

Ahead of the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election, the Election Commission has proposed amending the Representation of the People Order (RPO) to bring back the 'no vote' option in national elections, as well as cancelling provisions on using electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah made the announcement this evening after the commission's meeting at the EC office in Agargaon, Dhaka today (11 August).

"There will not be a 'no vote' option in every constituency. However, if there is only one candidate in a constituency, they will not be elected unopposed. They will have to compete against the 'no vote', and if 'no' gets highest votes, polls in that constituency will be held again," he said.

How we lost our right to say 'No'

The 'no vote' system was introduced months before the December 2008 election as citizens' rights to say no against all candidates on the ballot, if they didn't like any of them.

If the symbol for 'none of the above candidates', known as the 'No' vote, in any constituency registered more than 50% of votes cast, the returning officer would cancel the results of that seat and a re-vote would be held, according to the provision repealed by the Hasina government in February 2009.

Later, in the 10th parliamentary election in 2014, candidates in 153 constituencies were elected as member of parliaments uncontested.

Sanaullah said the proposed amendment in the RPO also includes the restoration of EC's authority to annul the results of an entire constituency in case of electoral irregularities.

After taking office, the current Election Commission had announced it would not use electronic voting machines (EVMs). "Now, all EVM related provisions have been eliminated in the proposed amendments to the RPO." 

He informed that the RPO reform proposals will be sent to the law ministry next week. "If approved by the government, it will be issued as an amendment ordinance. Any recommendations from the Consensus Commission will be added later."

Sanaullah also said the armed forces have been included as law enforcement agencies, enabling the commission to deploy members of the army, navy, and air force for maintaining law and order, just like other forces.

He said journalists will be allowed to be present during vote counting. However, those who wish to be present from the beginning to the end of the count must stay for the entire duration; leaving midway will not be permitted, he added.

He also mentioned that a previous provision in the RPO allowed for a lottery if two candidates received an equal number of votes. "The commission has moved away from this and now says that in such cases, a re-election will be held. The commission does not consider it appropriate to elect a member of parliament through a lottery."

In response to a question, the election commissioner said that while the previous RPO allowed for the cancellation of a party's registration, it had no explicit provision for suspending a party's registration. "The commission has decided to include in the legal framework the option to temporarily suspend a party's registration — without canceling it — if the party's activities are suspended, thus imposing a lighter penalty." 

Regarding new political parties, he stated that 22 new political parties that applied for registration have passed the EC's initial screening. The commission will make the final decision after field-level verification, he added.

The election commissioner further said, "The commission has accepted the reform proposal which states that even if parties contest in a coalition, each political party will use its own reserved symbol and will not contest under any single common symbol."