Upazila polls code amended with minor changes

The Election Commission has brought minor changes in the election code of conduct inserting two new provisions for the upcoming upazila elections. The gazette on the amendment to the Upazila Election (Code of Conduct) Rules 2013 was published on Wednesday. The two new provisions have been included in the clauses 8 and 22. According to the clause 22 A, any sitting upazila chairman or vice chairman or vice chairman from reserved post cannot use office and transports of upazila parishad during electioneering from the announcement of election schedule to vote casting. As per the clause 8A, contesting candidates can write nothing other than his name, portrait and election symbol, and voter’s name, names of the voter’s parents, voter’s address, voter number and name of polling station in the voter slip. There is no legal barrier to representatives of upazila parishad to contest the polls without quitting the posts. But they must leave state facilities for the sake of creating a level-playing field, said an official of the EC secretariat preferring anonymity, according to a news agency.