The Election Commission has decided to retain its sweeping authority to cancel a contestant’s candidature in parliamentary polls for violation of electoral laws backtracking from its recent move to cut the power.
Election Commissioner Mohammad Shah Newaz revealed this to reporters at EC office in the capital on Thursday.
The decision came in the wake of widespread criticism from different quarters that started to emerge following a recent move to relinquish the power, which the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad earlier termed as “meaningless and inapplicable”.
“Showing respect to the reactions and opinions from people of different walks of life, the EC has decided to turn back from the move,” Shah Newaz told reporters Thursday.
In what surprised many, the commission on July 28 decided to drop the provision of article 91E of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) which empowers it to cancel one’s candidature in parliamentary polls.
In line with the decision, the EC had asked its secretariat to send a proposal to the law ministry for taking steps to scrap the authority by amending the Representation of the People Order.
Earlier, the EC was given this authority before the 2001 parliamentary polls during the then caretaker government tenure. But it was abolished in face of severe opposition from political parties.
The election office got the sweeping authority again before the ninth parliamentary election in December 2008.
At that time, some political parties vehemently opposed this authority fearing its abuse. However, it was not applied in that election.
Source: The Daily Star
