A civil society platform on Wednesday said the Election Commission (EC) has been gradually becoming ineffective in the wake of poor election management and amending laws or introducing new ones.
The platform, Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), also observed that the proposed amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972 will further diminish the EC's power.
The observations came from a virtual discussion - 'Proposed Amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) and Citizens Thoughts' - organised by Shujan.
Moderated by Shujan Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, the event was also addressed by former election commissioner M Sakhawat Hossain, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder, Dhaka University Professor Dr Asif Nazrul, and Shujan executive members Dr Shahdeen Malik and Tofail Ahmed, with Shujan President M Hafizuddin Khan in chair.
In his speech, Mr Sakhawat said, "From my point of view, the EC has been reducing its 'independent nature', which means that the commission will arrange elections as per the government's directives."
It has been rumoured that the commission will hand over the National ID Card Project to the government, he noted.
"If that happens, the government will get the chance to prepare the voter list as per its wish."
Such move will be a bad signal for the country's election culture, he added.
The former election commissioner suggested the EC to make a proper registration policy for political parties, forming an expenditure monitoring committee, auditing expenditure of political entities, and ensuring use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) etc.
Mr Majumder said under the current EC, the country's electoral system has collapsed, and the people's right to franchise has been taken away.
The authorities concerned have also been weakening the commission through amending laws and enacting new ones, he opined.
"The EC has lost its acceptability, while there are questions about its honesty and eligibility."
The government should enact a law as per the directives of Section 118 of the constitution for the sake of appointing chief election commissioner and other election commissioners, he urged.
Recently, the EC has drafted a bill for registration of political parties by changing a provision that dictates the parties to mandatorily accommodate at least 33 per cent women in all their committees within 2020.
The proposed amendment to Section 90(B) in the RPO may not have a time limit for ensuring 33 per cent women in all committees of the political parties.
Criticising the move, local government expert Dr Tofail said the law is like a safeguard, the commission cannot take initiatives to change it (law).
Reducing own power is suicidal. Everyone knows about 'ineffectiveness' of the current EC, and it will become more useless following change in laws, he concluded.
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