Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said that the amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) was as proposed by the Election Commission (EC).
He made this claim during a press briefing at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital's Agargaon on Monday.
The CEC convened the press conference to clarify the Representation of the People Order (RPO) Amendment Bill, 2023.
The CEC claimed that in the new amendment, the EC has got the power to cancel the polls and stop the publication of gazettes in some centres after investigating the allegations of post-poll irregularities.
Stating that the Commission has not proposed any change in Section 91 of the Act, the CEC said: “No change has been brought from the government or Parliament. Any change in Article 91 would have altered our powers. This is a very important clause where we can cancel any one or two centres or all the constituencies during the polling period.”
CEC also said: “We have replaced the word election with the word polling at three places. This is a clerical correction.”
