Giving responsibilities of the ministries to the Election Commission during the parliamentary polls in the proposed amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) was absolutely unconstitutional, said former adviser to a caretaker government Akbar Ali Khan.
“If the government wants to give the Election Commission responsibilities of the ministries, it has to amend the constitution,” he said at a roundtable on Friday, asking if that could resolve all problems.
He said a ministry was a part of the executive while the EC was a constitutional body.
Akbar also said the increase in polls
expenditure and the ceiling of donation to party funds would encourage the use of black money in the next parliamentary elections.
“No country in the world could control the use of black money in elections except the Scandinavian countries as their political parties do not encourage use of black money in elections,” he said at the roundtable organised by the Election Working Group (EWG) at the Cirdap auditorium.
The cabinet on September 16 approved the draft of the amendment to the RPO, also excluding the EC’s proposal for its authority to monitor candidates’ polls expenditures.
Akbar Ali Khan, however, said the RPO amendment was not as big an issue now as that of an acceptable polls-time administration.
He said the ruling party had reiterated what was needed was strengthening the EC, not restoring the caretaker government system; the opposition, however, had been demanding restoration of the caretaker government system.
“But both the political parties are yet to propose anything on the formation of the polls-time government and strengthening the Election Commission for holding free, fair and impartial elections,” Akbar said.
“We have been fighting in a shadow. We want democracy in the country,” he added.
He also proposed appointing the returning, assistant returning and polling officers through a search committee before six months of the election.
M Hafiz Uddin, another former adviser to a caretaker government, alleged that the deputy commissioners had already been politicised. “How will the next general elections be held in a free and fair manner when the DCs would be given the charge of returning officers?”
The free and fair elections would not be possible under a partisan government, he said, adding that the increase of polls expenditure would encourage the use of huge money during the elections.
Hafiz said the commission should further strengthen the electoral code of conduct.
The EWG placed a number of recommendations for holding a free and fair election, which include considering the army as a law enforcement agency in the RPO, appointing EC’s own officials as returning officers, introducing the provision of “no vote,” and inserting a provision for making public the financial transactions of political parties.
Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Mujumder, former Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Ghulam Rahman, EWG Director Md Abdul Alim and EWG steering committee members also spoke at the event.
