As Bangladesh braces for its 2026 parliamentary elections, the Election Commission (EC) is pushing for a dramatic expansion of its authority: the power to cancel election results across an entire parliamentary constituency, not just individual polling centres, when irregularities are detected.
The proposal, sent to the government following a high-stakes meeting at the EC’s Agargaon headquarters on Thursday, signals a bold move to strengthen electoral integrity amid a fraught political transition.
With the interim government under Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus backing the review, the EC’s bid could reshape how democracy is safeguarded in a nation scarred by past electoral controversies.
Currently, the EC can only suspend or cancel votes at specific polling centres where rigging, chaos, or irregularities are proven, a limitation set by the Awami League government’s 2023 amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO).
This constraint, enacted on May 19, 2023, stripped the EC of its earlier ability to void entire constituency results, a power it now seeks to reclaim.
Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah expressed optimism after Thursday’s meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, saying, “We’ve asked to cancel entire constituency votes, not just centres. We hope the government restores this authority.”
The push comes as Bangladesh navigates a delicate post-uprising landscape, with the July 2024 student-led movement toppling Sheikh Hasina’s regime and fuelling demands for free and fair elections.
The EC’s proposal aligns with the interim government’s reform agenda, as confirmed by the Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder during a Wednesday night briefing at the Foreign Service Academy.
Chief Adviser Yunus has directed a review of the RPO to grant the EC broader powers in cases of widespread irregularities, a move praised by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as a step toward credible polls.
The stakes are high. Past elections, particularly in 2014 and 2018, were marred by allegations of vote-rigging and violence, eroding public trust.
The 2023 RPO amendment, seen as a curb on EC autonomy, was then criticised by opposition parties like the BNP, which accused the Awami League of shielding electoral malfeasance.
The EC’s proposal could have far-reaching implications.
Cancelling an entire constituency’s vote—potentially affecting 300,000 voters per seat—would be a drastic measure, signalling zero tolerance for fraud but risking logistical and political fallout.