Tk25 lakh cap on election campaign spending lifted, experts call for strict monitoring
Election experts said this effectively gives an added advantage to wealthier candidates
Highlights:
- EC raises campaign spending cap using per-voter formula
- Candidates may spend Tk10 per voter or Tk25 lakh
- Large constituencies allow much higher spending, up to Tk75 lakh
- Experts warn wealthier candidates gain advantage under new rules
- Monitoring weak; EC lacks constituency-level oversight and audits
- Past research shows spending far exceeded official limits
The Election Commission (EC) has adopted a new framework for determining how much candidates can spend on election campaigning in the upcoming national election. Whereas in the last election the maximum allowed spending was Tk25 lakh, candidates in some constituencies will now be able to spend much higher depending on the number of voters.
"The election expenses of a contesting candidate, including the expenditure incurred for him by the political party which has nominated him as its candidate, shall not exceed such amount as may be calculated on the basis of Tk10 per voter or Tk25 lakh whichever is higher," according to the new framework of the Representation of the People Order (RPO).
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Election experts said this effectively gives an added advantage to wealthier candidates. They warned that even though limits have been set, the whole effort will be meaningless without effective monitoring and transparency.
They urged the EC to ensure strict monitoring of campaign expenses.
How the maximum spending limit is determined
A candidate in each seat will be allowed to spend either Tk25 lakh or Tk10 per voter – whichever amount is greater. This means in a seat with 2.5 lakh or fewer voters, the spending limit is Tk25 lakh.
In a seat with more than 2.5 lakh voters, the limit will be determined proportionately according to the number of voters. If a constituency has 3,00,000 voters, then the per-voter calculation (Tk10 per voter) pushes up the spending limit to Tk30 lakh. In Dhaka-19, with about 7.5 lakh voters, a candidate can spend upto Tk75 lakh.
Concerns over monitoring
Badiul Alam Majumdar, head of the Electoral Reform Commission and secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (Sujan), told TBS that the EC has not formed constituency-level monitoring committees or taken meaningful steps to police campaign spending. He stressed that simply setting limits is insufficient without systems to verify and scrutinise declared expenses.
"Candidates often do not submit accurate accounts of what they have spent," Dr Majumdar said. "There is no effective oversight or scrutiny from the commission. If there were proper monitoring and post-election audits, spending would be more controlled."
He added that without these checks, election spending continues much like it did in past elections.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) published research after the 12th National Parliament Election showing that candidates spent an average of Tk1,56,83,777 – six times the official spending limit. Awami League candidates spent the most, averaging 11.45 times the limit. Before the election schedule was announced, Awami League candidates spent an average of Tk1,67,80,102. The research also showed that in the 11th Parliament election, held in 2018, candidates spent an average of Tk79,72,876.
Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "In any case, the justification behind making the cap practically open-ended is to provide some kind of equity in terms of proportionality to the varying numbers of voters in constituencies across the country."
However, as tricky as the election expense cap issue is, it contains inherent advantage in favour of candidates who are richer or have higher capacity to mobilise more resources through any means transparent or not," he cautioned.
