The Cabinet on Monday approved the proposal for amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) enabling the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the upcoming national election.
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 after the meeting at the Bangladesh Secretariat, 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).
With the amendment, he said, a loan defaulter will be allowed to pay his loan before submission of his nomination paper for contesting the parliamentary polls.Besides, the Cabinet Secretary said, the submission of nomination papers online will be allowed alongside the existing manual system.
He said all kinds of safety measures have been kept in the amendment proposal for removing any fear related to the EVM use.On August 30, the Election Commission decided to propose the amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) incorporating a provision to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) in national elections.
source: UNB
