Lawmakers to be disqualified for false statements, says Sohul
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
The Election Commission (EC) Tuesday decided to appoint chartered accountants for auditing the return statements of election expenditures submitted by the candidates for the ninth parliamentary elections, as a watchdog agency allegedly found most of them lavish in luring voters, reports UNB.
"By appointing chartered accountants we'll verify the statements very soon," Election Commissioner M Sohul Hussain told reporters at his office when asked if the EC would follow up on the TIB findings about excess spending by the candidates at the polls, including the MPs in the new parliament.
According to the TIB report, published Monday, some 87 per cent candidates spent beyond the limit of poll expenditures during the general election, held on December 29 against the grim backdrop of a ruthless anti-graft purge under the emergency regime.
The Election Commissioner said the Commission would thoroughly scrutinise the returns on poll expenditures to find out any problems and warned that "legal action" would be taken against the candidates who did not submit the statements to the Commission. "We'll check the TIN numbers and other sorts of information provided to us," he added.
Replying to a question, he said if anybody was found having submitted false statement, he or she would be disqualified for staying in his (MP) post as per strict provision of the Representation of People Order (RPO), originally drafted during the reign of the past army-led interim government.
Asked whether the EC would need approval for appointing the chartered accountants for securitising the statements, Sohul said the Election Commission was an independent body and it did not need to take approval from the government for doing any good deed.
When his attention was drawn about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's decision to relinquish her position as figurehead of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the Election Commissioner said in the RPO there was no bar for her to hold any constitutional post of the BCL, the student front of the ruling Awami League.
"By appointing chartered accountants we'll verify the statements very soon," Election Commissioner M Sohul Hussain told reporters at his office when asked if the EC would follow up on the TIB findings about excess spending by the candidates at the polls, including the MPs in the new parliament.
According to the TIB report, published Monday, some 87 per cent candidates spent beyond the limit of poll expenditures during the general election, held on December 29 against the grim backdrop of a ruthless anti-graft purge under the emergency regime.
The Election Commissioner said the Commission would thoroughly scrutinise the returns on poll expenditures to find out any problems and warned that "legal action" would be taken against the candidates who did not submit the statements to the Commission. "We'll check the TIN numbers and other sorts of information provided to us," he added.
Replying to a question, he said if anybody was found having submitted false statement, he or she would be disqualified for staying in his (MP) post as per strict provision of the Representation of People Order (RPO), originally drafted during the reign of the past army-led interim government.
Asked whether the EC would need approval for appointing the chartered accountants for securitising the statements, Sohul said the Election Commission was an independent body and it did not need to take approval from the government for doing any good deed.
When his attention was drawn about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's decision to relinquish her position as figurehead of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the Election Commissioner said in the RPO there was no bar for her to hold any constitutional post of the BCL, the student front of the ruling Awami League.