TIB disappointed as EC fails to release expenditure reports
FE REPORT | Thursday, 30 May 2024
The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has voiced disappointment as the Election Commission (EC) has failed to release the expenditure reports within the designated timeframe.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the TIB said the EC failed to fulfil its legal obligations to provide reports of the expenditures of candidates and political parties involved in the 12th national election, even though five months elapsed after the polls ended.
The TIB alleges that the EC is violating the country's electoral laws by maintaining secrecy regarding the matter.
Moreover, there are no instances of the EC taking any punitive measures against the candidates and political parties who 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), it 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 EC within 30 days of publishing the election results in a gazette.
Non-compliance carries penalties such as fines and imprisonment. Additionally, Section 44-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 44-Gha assigns returning officers and the commission the responsibility of making expenditure reports public.
The 12th national election took place on 07 January 2024, setting 07 February 2024 as the deadline for candidates to submit their reports and April 7 as the deadline for political parties.
However, the EC 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 Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, "Candidates, parties and even the EC itself are disregarding the legal obligations related to election expenditures."