RPO Amendment: Balloting of one or more polling stations can be postponed or cancelled

The Cabinet on Thursday gave the final approval to the draft of 'Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2023' with a new provision in an order to authorise the Election Commission to postpone or cancel the election result of one or more than one polling stations during the election.

The approval came from the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office here in the city.

“A new provision has been incorporated in it…. As per the provision, the authority has been given to postpone or cancel the result of one or more than one polling stations at any time during the election due to use of muscle power or any other reason,” Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain briefed reporters at Bangladesh Secretariat after the meeting.

He, however, said there is no issue of canceling the entire election in the proposed law.

He explained that if the EC thinks that there is a problem with the balloting of a polling station, it can cancel or postpone its balloting during the election. It may be during balloting or ballot counting, he said.

The Cabinet Secretary said the issue of punishing the offenders for hampering media men to perform their “lawful” duty during the election is also in the new provision.

The Cabinet earlier on March 28 last approved in principle the draft of Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2023.