The government has tabled a bill in Parliament on Monday to bar those convicted under the Collaborators Act and International Crimes Tribunal Act from becoming voters.
Once the bill is pushed through, convicts already on the voter list will be excluded.
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed placed the Voter List (Second Amendment) Bill-2013 on Monday.
The bill has been sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for review. The committee has been asked to examine the draft law and prepare a report on it in a week.
The amendment was approved by the Cabinet on Sep 2.
The 15th constitutional amendment also bars convicts under collaborator law from being a voters.
It says: “A person shall be disqualified for election as, or for being, a Member of Parliament who… has been convicted of any offence under the Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) Order, 1972.”
Explaining the reason for the latest move, the law amendment proposal says it is not right to keep those on the electoral roll who do not believe in the independence of Bangladesh and had been involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Cabinet also approved amendment to the Representation of the People Order Act on Monday to bar the people convicted by ICT from running in elections.
The long-awaited trial of the suspected war criminals started through the constitution of the International War Crimes Tribunal in 2010.
Trial of the war criminals was a top electoral pledge of the ruling Awami League.
The ICT condemned six war criminals – four to death sentence and two to jail term.
The death row convicts are Delwar Hossain Sayedee, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abul Kalam Azad alias ‘Bachchu Razakar’ while the two others are Ghulam Azam and Abdul Quader Molla.
Source: Bd news24
