The Bangladesh Constitution was adopted on November 4, 1972, effective from December 16.

Under the constitution, an election was required to be held and the R.P.O. was promulgated on December 29, 1972.

The first election for the parliament was held in March 1973. There have been 8 parliamentary elections, and the ninth one will be also held under the P.O. 1972 as amended from time to time.

Election Laws
Election laws deal with the following components: (a) voters, (b) candidates of political parties, (c) officers and personnel at the polling stations and (d) election dispute resolution mechanisms.

The RPO has six chapters. Each chapter deals with matters pertaining to elections.

• Chapter I define the terms used in the Order,
• Chapter II discusses the powers of the Election Commission,
• Chapter III pertains to the process of holding elections,
• Chapter IIIA deals with election expenses,
• Chapter IIIB gives account of administration and conduct of officers during election,
• Chapter IV was deleted in 1978,
• Chapter V enumerates the process of election disputes,
• Chapter VI deals with offences, penalties and procedures,
• Chapter VIA: Registration of political parties for obtaining certain benefits.

Amendments in RPO by past CTG
The P.O. has been amended fifteen times, the last time being in 2001. These amendments took place during the tenure of various governments.

The Shahabuddin CTG also promulgated the Election Officials (Special Rules) Ordinance in 1990.

It also amended the RPO, raising the ceiling of election expenses from Tk 100,000 to Tk 300,000 in 1991.

The amendment made in 1991 also required the contesting candidates to submit a statement, within seven days of the last date of withdrawal, specifying the probable sources of funds to meet their election expenses.

The Habibur Rahman CTG amended the R.P.O., through an ordinance in April 1996, disqualifying several categories of people, especially bank loan defaulters, from contesting elections

The most sweeping changes were made by the Latifur Rahman CTG. On August 8, 2001, the RPO Amendment Ordinance was promulgated, amending a number of provisions.

One of the important changes was to empower the Election Commission to make rules to carry out the purposes of the RPO, including cancellation of candidature of those who would break the rules.

Furthermore, a new Chapter, VIA, was incorporated in RPO for registration of political parties so as to get some benefits.

The RPO amended in 2001 raised the ceiling from Tk 300,000 to Tk 5000,000, and the security deposit to Tk 10,000 from Tk 5,000. However, major political parties fail to register with the Election Commission.

Proposed new amendments of RPO
The constitution provides that election of MPs should be peaceful, fair and impartial (Article 58D.2). That means that the law regulating the election must not be weak or faulty, and should not leave too many loopholes that influence the outcome of the election.

Against this background, certain amendments in core areas are proposed for the R.P.O. 1972 with a view to conducting a fair election.

The main thrust is as follows:

• The Election Commission should be separate from the executive (government). This means that the structure of the Commission must be such that the government cannot influence the Commission. This implies a separate independent secretariat, recruitment of officers by the Commission, and not deputed from the government, to man the secretariat. It must have a separate budget as well.
• The Election Commission must be empowered to disqualify candidates, besides being invested with other powers. The Election Commission must earn the trust and confidence of the people. This view has been recently aired by the new chief Election Commissioner.
• There must be a correct voters list, with photographs against the names (similar to passport), or ID cards. Proper registration of all eligible voters is a must.
• Registration of political parties currently remains voluntary. It must be made mandatory for all political parties. Registration will provide information about the sources of funds and the expenditures of the parties.
• It is desirable that candidates be selected at the primary voter's level, and not be imposed by the central office of a political party. The grassroots must have a say in selecting a person who will represent them in the parliament.
• No retired public servant, either civil or armed forces, will be eligible for contesting an election unless some time (say three to five years) has elapsed since his retirement, or resignation.

The candidate must provide to the Commission all his financial statements and personal records so to make him/her look an absolutely clean and honest person.

Election dispute resolution must take place within a strict time period, not exceeding three months. The Appellate Division, in the case of G.Q. Chowdhury vs ABM Fazlul Karim Chowdhury, paved the way for disposal of election disputes.

In the light of the amendments made by past CTGs, it is desirable that the care-taker government seriously consider amendments in RPO as proposed publicly by the civil society, and an ordinance be appropriately promulgated to ensure a free and fair election.

Amendments to any law arise out of necessity because often it has been seen that a feeble law is like a cobweb, strong enough to detain only the weak and too weak to hold the strong. The RPO has to keep up with the times and changing situations.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.