Bangla EC plans ‘no votes’ system

Bangladesh’s Election Commission has proposed introduction of a system under which voters can cast “no votes” in polls allowing them to express...

Bangladesh’s Election Commission has proposed introduction of a system under which voters can cast “no votes” in polls allowing them to express “lack of confidence” in candidates of their constituency as the interim government promised a total reform to clean politics.

“In the existing system, voters cannot express their unwillingness to cast vote for any contesting candidate. As a result, a candidate is elected and made people’s representative even when he does not have the support of the majority voters of the constituency concerned,” the Daily Star reported, quoting the proposal.

The number of the “no votes” to be cast, however, would not affect the election results, but keep a record of voters’ attitude towards the candidates. Election Commission sources said they might consider incorporating another provision suggesting fresh polls where 50 per cent voters showed “no confidence” in candidates.

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According to the report, the Election Commission incorporated the proposal in line with suggestions of civil society groups after the independent constitutional body made public its original draft proposals last month.

In another such supplementary proposal, the commission also suggested that every registered political party must have specific provision in its Constitution for including at least 33 per cent women as office-bearers of its central committee and other committees at different

levels.