The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The loan and bill defaulters willing to contest the upcoming polls got a new lease of time to qualify as the Election Commission yesterday set November 13 as the new repayment deadline.

Under previous rules they had already been debarred from the race as the time-lag between repayment of overdue bank loans and utility bills and the filing of nomination was 15 days. Now the time-gap is cut down to 7 days through amending the RPO.

The council of advisers of the caretaker government Sunday approved amendments to the newly revised Representation of People Order (RPO), granting more time for repayment of the loans and bills, as political parties pleaded for.

"Those who will submit the nomination papers on November 20 have to clear the loans and bills within November 13 as per the new amendment to the RPO," EC secretary M Humaun Kabir told a press briefing at the EC secretariat yesterday afternoon.

He said according to the latest revision of the RPO, the election aspirants need to repay the overdue loans and bills 7 days before, instead of 15 days, of the date of submitting the nomination papers.

Asked whether the EC sought list of loan defaulters from Bangladesh Bank, the secretary said the Commission asked the bank authorities to prepare a list of loan defaulters and send it to the returning officers.

"During scrutiny of nomination papers, the returning officers will play the role of sorting out eligibility for candidature."

About extension of the party-registration deadline, he said the registration process would continue for some more days as the EC has extended the deadline for filing nomination papers.