EC wants power to cancel constituency’s vote

The Election Commission (EC) is seeking to regain its mandate to scrap voting across an entire parliamentary constituency in the event of large-scale irregularities, ahead of Bangladesh’s 13th general election.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin shared the commission’s position during the eighth meeting at the Nirbachan Bhaban, or Election Building, in Dhaka’s Agargaon on Thursday.

After the meeting, Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah briefed the media at 5:00 pm.

“We had the authority to halt voting in an entire constituency. That was removed. We now only have the power to cancel votes at specific centres,” he said.

The issue ties back to a controversial by-election in Gaibandha-5, where voting was halted entirely by the then EC after monitoring via CCTV.

This authority was later limited by legal amendments, allowing the EC to cancel individual polling centres only.

“We’ve applied to regain that power and and we hope we will,” said Sanaullah.

The EC is proceeding with electoral reforms based on recommendations from the Electoral Reform Commission.

These include amendments to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), Election Officers (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, affidavit requirements, EC Secretariat law, postal ballots, EVM policy, party registration progress, voter roll updates, and finalising constituency boundaries.

The commission meeting began around 11am, presided over by the CEC, with all four election commissioners, the EC secretary and relevant officials present.

Although the proposed RPO amendment was presented, it was not discussed in detail.

The next meeting will be dedicated to in-depth discussion on the amendment ordinance, said Sanaullah.

The commission is in favour of proposing amendments to the RPO to regain its authority to cancel the vote in an entire constituency if serious irregularities are detected.

A day earlier, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus had instructed officials to examine the legal aspects of restoring such powers to the EC to prevent election fraud.

SEPARATE VOTER LIST, BOOTHS FOR YOUTHS

Sanaullah said there was no current need for a separate youth voter list, though it could be reviewed if necessary.

He said booth management decisions will rest entirely with the EC.

Citing existing measures to simplify centre management, he noted: "Separate booths exist for women, while pregnant women, senior citizens, and the ill receive priority.”

“If any proposal comes to encourage disinterested young voters, we will certainly consider it.

“But the final decision will be made by the EC.”

Asked about reports on dedicated youth booths, he said: “What you’ve seen in the media, I’ve also seen. Let’s hear what discussions actually happened. The EC will decide on polling centre management.”

Earlier, the interim government announced its intention to hold elections before Ramadan, depending on preparation.

It also asked for a review of proposals for a separate booth and list for voters aged 18 to 33.

Yunus issued the directive during what was termed a “crucial” meeting on Wednesday, according to his Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, who later held an emergency briefing that night.

AFFIDAVITS

Sanaullah said new additions to candidate affidavits are under review.

Instead of disclosing only 20 years of criminal case history, candidates may soon be required to include lifetime records.

SUPPLEMENTARY VOTER ROLL NEXT WEEK

The EC conducted house-to-house updates beginning on Jan 20.

Around 4.4 million unregistered voters have been newly added.

Sanaullah said the draft of the supplementary roll will be published next week, with the final list due in August after objections and claims are resolved.

“We have registered 4,406,602 previously unlisted voters. We’ve also identified 2,132,590 dead voters,” he added.

The gender gap between male and female voters has dropped to around 1.8 million.

EC SERVICE, OTHER CHANGES

The election commissioner said discussions were held on amending the EC Secretariat Act.

A separate service -- called the Election Commission Service --has been proposed to recruit secretaries and officers. Until then, current rules will apply.

According to Sanaullah, small revisions are also being proposed to the Election Officers (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. These include changes to financial authority for EC officials.

Commending efforts to streamline NID corrections, he said 900,000 applications had been resolved in the past seven months, with only 74,000 pending.

He added that procedures are being developed to ease complications related to religious identity changes in NID corrections.

CONSTITUENCY MAP, NO SEAT REDUCTION

The EC is preparing to publish the draft redistricting of all 300 parliamentary constituencies.

Once the technical committee submits its report, the draft will be released.

Sanaullah said: “We’ve reached the final stage of boundary demarcation. No objections were filed for 221 seats. We hope to release the full draft next week.”

He added that seat numbers in Dhaka are unlikely to drop significantly.

The plan aims to balance population and voter numbers.

“We’ve referred the voter list-- which is a by-product of population data -- to the technical committee. We’ll update next week,” he said.

Recommendations on boundary adjustments have already come from a specialised commission.

How far these will be implemented depends on practical considerations, he added.

PARTY REGISTRATION

The EC has started verifying new political party applications.

Of 147 applications from 144 parties, those with complete information are undergoing field verification.

Parties with minor issues have been given 15 days to provide missing details.

POSTAL BALLOTS FOR EXPATS

Sanaullah confirmed that Bangladeshi citizens living abroad will be allowed to vote in the General election via postal ballots.

To streamline the process, voters will apply online. Once printed, ballot papers will be delivered through special arrangements to save time.

The EC has also dropped electronic voting machines from its plans entirely.

“We have taken a final decision. EVMs will not be used in any upcoming election,” he said.