The government is set to table a law aimed at stripping the convicted war criminals of their right to contest in the general elections as the last session of parliament resumes on Monday after a 10-day recess.
Law minister Shafique Ahmed is scheduled to table the Representation of the People (amendment) Bill-2013, which is the parent law for the parliamentary polls, according to the order of the day for September 30.
On September 16, the minister tabled the Voters’ Roll (second amendment) Bill-2013 to drop the convicted war criminals from the voters’ list amid absence of the main opposition BNP. All of the war crimes convicts and most of the accused are leaders of Bangladesh Jaamat-e-Islami, an opposition ally.
The BNP-Jamaat MPs are also likely to boycott the initiation of the second law against criminals convicted in the International Crimes Tribunal Act-1973.
The parliament’s business schedule stipulates that the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on law ministry will present the watchdog’s recommendation to pass the voters’ roll amendment bill on Monday.
The two laws are set to be enacted in parliament’s current session which will end on October 24, the de facto last day of the Awami League-led ninth Jatiya Sangsad, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury told the Dhaka Tribune.
The war crimes tribunal has already convicted six war criminals, all from the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. They are: Abul Kamal Azad (Bachhu Razakar), Ghulam Azam, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Delawar Hossain Sayeedee, Abdul Quader Mollah and M Kamaruzzaman.
All of them will lose their voting and candidature rights after the passage of the two proposed laws.
More opposition leaders are awaiting trial for the alleged war crimes. Jamaat’s Motiur Rahman Nizami and AKM Yusuf and BNP’s Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and Abdul Alim are facing trial.
The constitution also contains a provision that prevents war criminals from getting these rights.
On September 16, the cabinet approved the draft of the Representation of the People’s Order-1972 raising the amount of deposit for vying in the polls to Tk20,000 from the previous Tk10,000.
The proposed RPO also increased the ceiling on electoral expenses to Tk2.5m from Tk1.5m, excepting the chiefs of the political parties for their country-wide tours.
It also raised the limits of donation by individuals and institutions to some candidates. According to the proposed law, a person can donate up to Tk2.5m, which is Tk1m at present.
Similarly, the new law will allow an institution to donate Tk5m — Tk2.5m more than the present provision.
Four more bills to be placed
According to the order of the day, State Minister for Science and Technology Yeafesh Osman will table the Bangladesh Council of Science and Industrial Bill-2013, mainly to rescind the existing Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Ordinance, 1978 promulgated by Ziaur Rahman.
Food Minister Abdur Razzaq will table the Safe Food Bill-2013 and Commerce Minister GM Quader will initiate the Multi-Level Marketing Regulation Bill-2013.
All of the bills are set to be enacted in the current session of Jatiya Sangsad.
