Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Thursday urged the election commissioners to resign immediately from their posts as the Election Commission (EC) moved to curtail its direct power to cancel the candidature of a candidate in national election.
On Wednesday, the EC prepared a draft of section 91E of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972 curtailing its power to cancel the candidature of a candidate and it also approved the draft of the Political Party Registration Bill, 2020 incorporating some articles from the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972.
Expressing its disappointment, the civil society organisation termed the move suicidal plan as it will weaken the EC.
The subsection (1) of the 91E of the RPO, 1972 stated: “Notwithstanding anything contained in this Order or rules, if it appears to the Commission on receiving information from any source or written report that, any contesting candidate or his agent or any other person on his behalf, by his order or under his direct or indirect consent, engages or attempts to engage in any serious illegal activity or violates or attempts to violate any provision of this Order or rules or Code of Conduct for which he may be disqualified to be elected as a member, the Commission may pass an order for an investigation of the matter giving the contesting candidate a reasonable opportunity of being heard”.
In the statement, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said “The nation will be benefited if all the commissioners including the chief election commissioner voluntarily step down”.
If a complaint is raised against a candidate, it will be investigated and if it is proved in the investigation, the candidature of the concerned candidate will be canceled as per the sub-sections 1 and 2 of section 91E of the Representation of the People Order, 1982, he insists.
The sub section (2) of the 91 E of the RPO,1972 also stated that “After receiving the investigation report under clause (1), if the Commission is satisfied that, the report was true, the Commission may, by written order, cancel the candidature of such candidate and in that event the election shall be held among the other contesting candidates of the concerned constituency; and where only one person remains as a contesting candidate because of cancellation of candidature of the other contesting candidate, the election shall be held under Article 17 for that constituency”.
