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Article 70 of the Constitution will remain applicable to the upcoming presidential election, meaning lawmakers who vote against their party’s decision risk losing their parliamentary membership, Chief Whip of the Jatiya Sangsad Md Nurul Islam Moni said on Tuesday.
“As Article 70 of the Constitution has not been amended, it will remain effective,” he told journalists after a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on preparations for the presidential election scheduled for August 20.
The meeting brought together parliamentary representatives of the ruling and opposition parties, officials of the Election Commission (EC) and the Parliament Secretariat.
Moni said the election would be held from 2pm to 5pm on August 20 at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, with MPs casting their votes according to their seat and division numbers.
He said the Chief Election Commissioner would serve as the Returning Officer, while EC officials and employees would conduct the election with secretarial support from the Parliament Secretariat.
Asked whether MPs would be free to vote for a presidential candidate other than the one nominated by their party, the Chief Whip said Article 70 would prevent them from doing so.
“Any lawmaker voting against the party’s decision would lose membership of Parliament under Article 70,” he said.
He said the provision would continue to apply to the presidential election even if the July National Charter is implemented.
“There is consensus on four areas concerning Article 70 in the July Charter, one of which is the presidential election,” Moni said.
The ruling party’s presidential candidate has not yet been finalised, he said, adding that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would nominate the candidate and the name would be announced when the nomination paper is submitted.
The deadline for withdrawal of candidature is the night of August 18, following submission and scrutiny of nomination papers.
Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam said Colonel (Retd) Oli Ahmad, Bir Bikram, has been nominated as the opposition’s presidential candidate on behalf of the 11-party alliance.
He said the country had not seen a competitive presidential election for nearly 35 years and that the opposition had fielded a candidate to promote democratic competition and ensure a participatory election.
“The opposition did not want the election to be held uncontested. That is why we have nominated a candidate,” he said.
He added that the meeting also discussed measures to ensure a free and fair presidential election.
Live broadcast of voting, counting
Moni said the voting process would be open to live media coverage. The counting of ballots and preparation of the election result would also be allowed to be broadcast live until the result is declared.
There are 349 voters in Parliament, he said.
If voting is completed before 5pm, the ballots will be counted and the result announced promptly. If voting remains incomplete, polling will continue until the scheduled closing time, after which the ballots will be counted and the result declared.
The Chief Whip said the authorities were working to ensure a free, fair and transparent election and strengthen public confidence in the democratic process.
“We want to create such a process so that the people of the country become confident in elections in the future and feel satisfied by electing candidates of their choice,” he said.
No Constitution Reform Council needed
On the proposed Constitution Reform Council, Moni said there was no need to establish such a body.
He said necessary constitutional reforms could be implemented through amendments, as is practised in other democratic countries.
Citing India as an example, he said its Constitution, adopted in 1950, had been amended 106 times up to 2024 without creating a separate Constitution Amendment Council or drafting an entirely new constitution.
“We will implement every letter, full stop, comma and semicolon of the July Charter exactly as it is. We all signed the charter together, and implementing it is our commitment,” he said.
Moni said a new bill would be placed before Parliament in its next session as part of the process of implementing the July Charter.
He reiterated that the government would take all necessary measures to sustain the democratic process and institutionalise democracy.