Press Release
Dhaka, 29 May 2024: The Election Commission (EC) has failed to fulfill its legal obligations to provide reports of the expenditures of candidates and political parties involved in the 12th National Parliament Election, even though it has been five months after the election ended. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has voiced its disappointment at the EC's failure to release the expenditure report within the designated timeframe. TIB claims that the EC is violating the country's electoral laws by maintaining secrecy regarding the matter. Moreover, there are no instances of the commission taking any punitive measures against the candidates and political parties who have failed to submit their expenditure reports on time, which is not expected from a constitutional body. After publishing the final Election Process Tracking report on the TIB website (https://ti-bangladesh.org/articles/research/6895), the organisation has called for urgently disclosing the expenditures related to candidates and parties.
As per Section 44-Ga of the Public Representation Order, 1972, candidates are required to submit a verified report of their election-related expenses to the Election Commission within 30 days of publishing the election results in a gazette. Non-compliance carries penalties such as fines and imprisonment. Additionally, Section 44 Ga-Ga of the order mandates that political parties submit their expenditure reports within 90 days of the results being gazetted, with provisions for penalties and potential registration revocation for non-submission. Moreover, Section 44Gha assigns returning officers and the commission the responsibility of making expenditure reports public.
The 12th National Election took place on January 7, 2024, setting February 7, 2024, as the deadline for candidates to submit their reports and April 7, 2024, as the deadline for political parties. However, the Election Commission did not impose any penalties on the preponderance of candidates and parties who failed to meet these deadlines. Raising concerns about the motives behind the inactiveness of the EC in collecting and disseminating information on election-related expenditures, TIB Executive Director (ED) Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said, "The candidates, parties, and even the Election Commission itself are disregarding the legal obligations related to election expenditures. Candidates and parties have shown disinterest to submit expenditure reports within the stipulated time, and on the other hand, the EC has not taken any punitive measures despite the crossing of the deadline. The EC is responsible for ensuring accountability of candidates and political parties that fail to adhere to electoral laws. On one hand, the EC ignoring electoral laws is disappointing, and on the other, the inactiveness of the commission is further encouraging candidates and parties to break the laws. This is embarrassing for a constitutional body like the Election Commission."
In accordance with the Public Representation Order, it is mandatory for returning officers to securely store the verified expenditure reports of candidates either in their office or at an alternate location. Furthermore, the order mandates the disclosure of these reports to the public upon the payment of a BDT 100 fee. Any individual who submits a formal request and pays the specified fee is entitled to access this information. However, according to TIB’s research, returning officers at the local level have failed to comply with this directive. Citing the absence of appointed personnel to manage the fee collection and a lack of explicit instructions regarding the payment process, the concerned returning officers have refrained from releasing the election-related expenditure report. Additionally, TIB’s request for this information was denied by the Election Commission (EC). Notably, the expenditure report has not been made available on the EC website.
TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman stated, “This is such a blatant disregard for the legal obligations of the Public Representation Order that it denies individuals access to essential information and blocks the path to ensuring accountability of public representatives, which is further undermining democracy and good governance. The commission’s decision to maintain secrecy on election related expenditure is deviating from the best practices. We request the Election Commission to release the report of the candidates and political parties’ expenditure on the commission’s website in order to ensure the effective implementation of the Public Representation Order. We urge the Election Commission to set a precedent by pursuing legal action against candidates and political parties who fail to submit their expenditure reports on time.”
Media Contact:
Mohammad Tauhidul Islam
Director, Outreach and Communication
Phone: +8801713107868
Email: tauhidul@ti-bangladesh.org
