Parliamentary elections are covered by the Representation of the People Order which was enacted in 1972. Since then many amendments have been made to this law. In the past, concerns were raised in the manner elections were conducted. Money, muscle and misuse of power became the norms in the past and people genuinely longed for a free, fair and credible election from the Bangladesh Election Commission. There were demands for reforming the system. The Bangladesh Election Commission after its reconstitution in February 2007 assessed the situation and decided to start a process of electoral reforms. The Commission reviewed various research papers, documents, press reports and other materials available on this subject and prepared a list of refrom agenda on the basis of which a draft was prepared. The BEC decided to solicit stakeholders opinion on the proposed amendments and a series of meetings were organised. The first such meeting was held on 26-04-2007 in the NEC Auditorium with representatives of the civil society organisations, eminent persons etc. Another meeting was held on 23-05-2007 with editors, senior journalists and members of the media. Finally, a series of meeting are underway with the political parties. The draft proposals have been reviewed at length and a number of changes have been made in the meanwhile.

The links below provide documents (briefing papers/press releases/draft act) issued by the BEC from time to time on RPO or related issues.

Draft Recommendations on Reform of Election Laws [Bangla]