Advisory Council passes RPO 2008; AL rejects RPO, reiterates demand for lifting of emergency; Chief Adviser: Time not ripe for lifting of emergency
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    • The Council of Advisers under the chairmanship of Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed, approved in principle the Representation of the People's Order (RPO) Ordinance 2008, putting in place the much sought after electoral reforms. The provisions of the RPO included the mandatory registration of all political parties, allowing a candidate in the parliamentary election to contest for a maximum of three seats instead of five, and the submission of the candidates’ election expenditure statements and related bank account statements to the Election Commission (EC)1. The Awami League (AL) rejected the RPO, asserting that the amendments brought in the RPO 1972 did not accommodate the recommendations made by political parties[fm]“AL rejects RPO ordinance,” The Daily Star, July 17, 2008, at http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=46153.

    The acting Awami League President Zillur Rahman on July 14 also urged his party to be united to resist the government move to hold upazila polls ahead of the national election2. The AL reiterated its demand for lifting of the emergency before the elections3.

    Meanwhile, the High Court on July 16 asked the EC to explain within 8 days as to why it should not declare as illegal the announcement of polls to be conducted on August 4 without the final voter list4. The HC also demanded an explanation from the government as to why the emergency proclamation should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional5.

    The Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed responded by stating that the time was not ripe for the lifting of emergency and that reasons still existed for “justifying its enforcement6.” Ahmed also expressed his satisfaction at the successful completion of an error-free voter list with photographs7.

    The EC on its part announced its decision to hold upazila parishad elections in over 300 upazilas (out of the total of 482) on October 22 or 23. The election schedule would be announced in the next month8. The EC has also decided not to ask the government to deploy the army for the August 4 polls9.

    The EC announcement on upazila parishad elections met with resistance from the AL, which called on its party members to boycott them10. Meanwhile, the Awami League (AL) and Jatiya Party (JP) announced their decision to join hands with an eye to securing victory over the BNP-Jamaat alliance in the upcoming national elections11. The BNP has asserted that the people would end the emergency in the country if the caretaker government failed to do so12.

    In bilateral developments, the BSF and the BDR concluded a four-day biannual meeting in Kolkata on July 24 during which both sides exchanged lists of criminals of the two countries operating across the border13. The chief of the Indian Army, Gen. Deepak Kapoor also arrived on a six-day tour in Dhaka on July 27. The visit was intended at improving military cooperation between the two countries14.

    In other developments, the Asian Development Bank promised to grant Bangladesh $340 million in order to implement social security measures, particularly those related to food security15. World Bank’s Vice-President for South Asia, Isabel Guerrero also declared that the Bank would provide $100 million in aid to Bangladesh to enhance food security16.

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