RPO set to be revised again to incorporate referendum provisions
According to EC officials, the proposed changes focus primarily on provisions related to postal voting and the counting of postal ballots
The Election Commission (EC) is preparing a fresh round of amendments to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), this time to bring the law in line with the newly issued Referendum Ordinance.
"Due to the referendum, amendments to the RPO are needed again," EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said on Wednesday (3 December).
He further said, "These will be placed before the Advisory Council on Thursday. Adjustments may be required until the last moment. Linguistic refinements to the code of conduct are also underway. This is an ongoing process."
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According to EC officials, the proposed changes focus primarily on provisions related to postal voting and the counting of postal ballots, including specifying the final time for counting.
Following the introduction of postal voting, the EC is revising several electoral rules as it moves toward announcing the national election schedule in the second week of December.
A key proposal involves amending Article 27 of the RPO. Under the draft, any postal ballot not marked with a cross or tick beside a candidate symbol will be invalid. Postal ballots cast in a constituency where the candidate list is later altered by a court order will also be excluded from the count.
Additionally, ballots lacking the voter's signature on the accompanying declaration will be rejected.
The EC has also proposed amending Rule 14(b) to limit campaign billboards: "not more than one billboard per ward or 20 per constituency (whichever is more) in a union, municipality, or metropolitan area for each parliamentary seat." If approved, this would allow each ward within unions, municipalities, and metropolitan areas to host one billboard for campaign purposes.
Both the parliamentary polls and the referendum are planned for the first half of February.
Between September and November, the EC completed updates to election-related laws and regulations. The RPO Amendment Ordinance was promulgated on 3 November, and the code of conduct for political parties and candidates was issued on 10 November. The government then published the Referendum Ordinance on 25 November.
Last week, the EC sent proposals concerning the latest RPO amendments and unresolved sections of the code of conduct to the law ministry. Any amendment to the ordinance requires approval from the Advisory Council, while revisions to the code of conduct may proceed once vetted by the ministry.
