Sunday, 07 September, 2025
The Election Commission (EC) has finalized the draft of the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, proposing to bar fugitives from contesting elections and to reintroduce a ‘No Vote’ option in single-candidate constituencies to curb uncontested polls.
“We’ve finalized the draft law and sent it to the law ministry,” said Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah while briefing reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The draft also broadens the definition of “law enforcement agencies” to include the armed forces — Army, Navy, and Air Force — allowing them to function as law enforcers during elections alongside police, RAB, Ansar, BGB, and Coast Guard.
Although the armed forces were originally included under this definition, the Awami League government removed them after the 2008 general election. Consequently, in the 2014, 2018, and 2024 polls, the military was deployed only as a striking force, not as a full-fledged law enforcement body.
As per the proposed amendments, alongwith the nomination paper a candidate must submit income tax return, probable sources of his income both at home and abroad, a statement of property of his own and his dependents both at home and abroad.
Furnishing false information in the affidavit could lead to the annulment of their parliamentary membership anytime during the tenure.
The proposed amendment raised the election security deposit from Tk 20,000 to Tk 50,000 and made mandatory for an alliance-backed candidate to use his own party’s symbol, not allied party’s symbol, and disqualified a person who is the president or holds any other office in the managing committee of any educational institution located in the relevant constituency for the election.
Talking about the fugitive, Sanaullah said a person who has been declared a fugitive by any court shall be disqualified for election or for being a member (of parliament).
About the ‘No Vote’ option, the election commissioner said if there is a single candidate in a constituency must contest with ‘No Vote’ option for a single time.
According to the Article 19 of the draft RPO, if there is only one candidate after the withdrawal of candidacy, the election shall be held between the sole candidate and the ‘No Vote’ option.
If the number of ‘No Vote’ exceeds the number of votes received by the contesting candidate, a fresh election shall be held in that constituency by announcing a fresh schedule. But there shall be no ‘No Vote’ option in the subsequent election and if there is also a single candidate, then he shall be declared elected.
About the authority of the presidential officer, Sanaullah said the draft law enhanced the authority of a presiding officer to stop the polling of a polling station. “The presiding officer will be all-in-all over the polling of a polling station,” he said.
According to the draft law, a presiding officer may halt polling if voting is disrupted beyond control, or if ballot boxes are unlawfully removed, destroyed, lost, or tampered with to the extent that the results at the polling station cannot be determined.
Under the current RPO, a presiding officer cannot suspend polling without first seeking assistance from law enforcement agencies and failing to restore order.
The proposed amendment will take effect if approved by the council of advisers and subsequently promulgated as an ordinance by the President after legal vetting by the law ministry.
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The Election Commission (EC) has finalized the draft of the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, proposing to bar fugitives from contesting elections and to reintroduce a ‘No Vote’ option in single-candidate constituencies to curb uncontested polls.
“We’ve finalized the draft law and sent it to the law ministry,” said Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah while briefing reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The draft also broadens the definition of “law enforcement agencies” to include the armed forces — Army, Navy, and Air Force — allowing them to function as law enforcers during elections alongside police, RAB, Ansar, BGB, and Coast Guard.
Although the armed forces were originally included under this definition, the Awami League government removed them after the 2008 general election. Consequently, in the 2014, 2018, and 2024 polls, the military was deployed only as a striking force, not as a full-fledged law enforcement body.
As per the proposed amendments, alongwith the nomination paper a candidate must submit income tax return, probable sources of his income both at home and abroad, a statement of property of his own and his dependents both at home and abroad.
Furnishing false information in the affidavit could lead to the annulment of their parliamentary membership anytime during the tenure.
The proposed amendment raised the election security deposit from Tk 20,000 to Tk 50,000 and made mandatory for an alliance-backed candidate to use his own party’s symbol, not allied party’s symbol, and disqualified a person who is the president or holds any other office in the managing committee of any educational institution located in the relevant constituency for the election.
Talking about the fugitive, Sanaullah said a person who has been declared a fugitive by any court shall be disqualified for election or for being a member (of parliament).
About the ‘No Vote’ option, the election commissioner said if there is a single candidate in a constituency must contest with ‘No Vote’ option for a single time.
According to the Article 19 of the draft RPO, if there is only one candidate after the withdrawal of candidacy, the election shall be held between the sole candidate and the ‘No Vote’ option.
If the number of ‘No Vote’ exceeds the number of votes received by the contesting candidate, a fresh election shall be held in that constituency by announcing a fresh schedule. But there shall be no ‘No Vote’ option in the subsequent election and if there is also a single candidate, then he shall be declared elected.
About the authority of the presidential officer, Sanaullah said the draft law enhanced the authority of a presiding officer to stop the polling of a polling station. “The presiding officer will be all-in-all over the polling of a polling station,” he said.
According to the draft law, a presiding officer may halt polling if voting is disrupted beyond control, or if ballot boxes are unlawfully removed, destroyed, lost, or tampered with to the extent that the results at the polling station cannot be determined.
Under the current RPO, a presiding officer cannot suspend polling without first seeking assistance from law enforcement agencies and failing to restore order.
The proposed amendment will take effect if approved by the council of advisers and subsequently promulgated as an ordinance by the President after legal vetting by the law ministry.
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