The government has issued an ordinance amending the Representation of the People Order (RPO), retaining the provision that political parties must contest elections under their own symbols, even if they form alliances.
The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs issued the ordinance on Monday.
Earlier on 23 October, the Advisory Council gave policy approval to the draft of the RPO (Amendment) Ordinance.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had raised objections to the provision requiring allied parties to contest under their individual symbols. The party submitted written objections to both the Election Commission (EC) and the Law Ministry.
Following this, the government initially made a policy decision to drop the provision. However, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) later expressed support for retaining it.
Ultimately, the ordinance was issued with the provision intact.
Before the RPO amendment, the candidates from alliance parties were allowed to contest elections using the symbol of any registered party within the alliance.
However, after the amendment, the candidates of any registered political party allied with the BNP will no longer be permitted to contest using the “sheaf of paddy” symbol.
The EC recently included a clause in the RPO amendment for the first time, saying that a fugitive accused will not be eligible to contest in elections.
‘No’ vote provision
The RPO (Amendment) Ordinance has also made it more difficult for candidates to be elected unopposed. From now on, if there is only one candidate in a constituency, the election will be held between that candidate and a “No” vote. If the “No” vote wins, the EC will announce a new schedule for a fresh election in that seat.
If there is still only one candidate in the second round, that candidate will be declared elected unopposed.
Additionally, the revised RPO has included the army, navy, and air force as part of the law enforcement agencies during election duties.
Previously, only the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Armed Police Battalion (APBn), Ansar, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Coast Guard were defined as law enforcement agencies.
