EC seeks restoration of authority to annul entire constituency election over irregularities

Ahead of the 13th parliamentary election, the Election Commission is seeking the restoration of its authority to cancel voting in an entire constituency if irregularities occur.

Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd) Abul Fazl Md Sanaullah shared the development in response to questions from reporters following the EC's eighth commission meeting today (10 July), held at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka. 

The meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and attended by four election commissioners and senior officials.

Briefing reporters, Sanaullah said, "We have applied to regain the authority to cancel the election of an entire constituency. Previously, we had the power but that was taken away at one point. Currently, we only have the authority to cancel polling at individual centres."
"We have now proposed to have it restored, and we hope to get it back," he added.

The previous Awami League government amended the Representation of the People Order (RPO) in 2023, ahead of the 12th parliamentary election, limiting the EC's powers to suspend or cancel elections – drawing criticism from opposition parties.

As per the revised RPO, the EC can only cancel results from specific polling stations where irregularities are reported, and only if law enforcement fails to control the situation. 

The amendment came after the Election Commission cancelled the Gaibandha-5 parliamentary by-election due to irregularities.

On Wednesday, at a press conference, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said the EC had once cancelled a by-election based on CCTV evidence, but its powers were later restricted. 

He said the chief adviser has ordered a legal review to examine whether full cancellation powers can be returned to the EC in cases of widespread irregularities.

RPO reform under discussion

Although the RPO amendment proposal was presented at yesterday's meeting, no detailed discussion was held. "We'll discuss the proposed amendments to the RPO in depth during the next meeting," Commissioner Sanaullah said.

According to meeting sources, the EC is considering a broad range of electoral reforms based on recommendations from the Election Reform Commission, including the RPO, special laws for election officers, affidavit reforms, the EC Secretariat Act, postal ballots, EVMs, progress on political party registration, voter list updates, and constituency delimitation.

Sanaullah further said discussions were held on expanding affidavit requirements during candidate nominations. "Details of criminal cases will not be limited to the past 20 years but must include a candidate's full lifetime record," he said.

The EC updated the voter list through a door-to-door campaign starting on 20 January this year. Nearly 44 lakh previously omitted voters have now been registered, while 21 lakh deceased voters have been removed.

A draft supplementary voter list is expected to be published next week, followed by a claims and objections process. The final updated list is set to be published in August.

Changes to EC staffing, constituency boundaries

The commission is discussing the formation of an "Election Commission Service" to manage appointments of secretaries and officials.

In the meantime, current regulations will remain in place. Small amendments have also been proposed to the 1991 Election Officer Special Act. 

The commission is finalising work on redrawing parliamentary constituency boundaries. 

"No objections were received for 221 out of 300 constituencies. We expect to publish the draft next week," said Sanaullah, adding that the number of constituencies in Dhaka is unlikely to change significantly.

Expatriate voting and postal ballot plans

For the first time, Bangladeshi expatriates are expected to vote using postal ballots in the upcoming election.

"A Development Project Proposal (DPP) worth Tk48 crore has been prepared. Expatriates will apply online, and special arrangements will be made to print and deliver ballot papers to them in time," said Commissioner Sanaullah.

The commission is also considering alternatives such as "blank ballots" where voters can write in the candidate's name, or printing marked ballots two months in advance.

A separate registration project for expatriate voters is also being planned. "We'll begin with a trial process," he said.

EVMs to be discontinued

The EC has decided that electronic voting machines (EVMs) will no longer be used in any future elections.

"There is no political consensus or recommendation from the reform commission regarding EVMs. So we've made a final decision – they will not be used," Commissioner Sanaullah confirmed. 

A separate committee will be formed to formally resolve the issue.

New electoral symbols

Meanwhile, the EC has sent a list of 115 electoral symbols, excluding the 'Shapla', to the Ministry of Law for vetting.

Once approved, these symbols will be included in the official EC schedule, expanding the current number of symbols from 69 to 115.

According to EC sources, a total of 150 new symbols were initially shortlisted by the relevant committee. However, after internal review, the commission decided to trim the list down to 115.

This revised list has now been submitted to the law ministry, which holds the authority to recommend additions or deletions before final approval.

The EC has also 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.