The approval to the proposed law (amendment) titled ‘Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2018’ was given at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at the Prime Minister’s Office with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Briefing reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said an ordinance in this regard will be promulgated as the last session of the 10th Parliament ends today (Monday).
He said the draft law was placed in the Cabinet meeting to bring amendment to the existing Representation of the People Order 1972.
The Cabinet Secretary said a new provision was incorporated in the proposed law to use EVMs approved by the Commission in the national election instead of traditional ballot papers.
The proposed law will give the Election Commission authority to introduce the EVM system, approve the EVM format and EVM software, and take safety measures for EVMs, he said.
The draft law proposed a number of safety measures for the EVMs to allay people’s fear over the security features of the electronic machines, Shafiul Alam said.
He said the Commission may approve an EVM considering the safety measures mentioned in the proposed law.
About the safety measures, the Cabinet Secretary said an EVM cannot be altered, tempered and hacked. “The machine will not have any network, internet connection, computer control and remote frequency. It’ll also be protected from any tempering and manipulation,” he said.
Besides, a provision was kept in the draft law to introduce the online system for submission of nomination papers alongside the manual one, he said.
According to the proposed law, a loan defaulter will have to pay his loan before the day of submission of nomination papers to contest the election.
A loan defaulter needs to pay his/her loan at least seven days before the submission of nomination papers to run the electoral race as per the existing RPO, Shafiul Alam said.
On August 30, the Election Commission decided to propose the amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) incorporating a provision to use EVMs in the national election like the local body elections.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on September 18 cleared a Tk 3,825.34 crore project to procure 1.5 lakh EVMs.