The CEC also said that after finalizing the contenders, the Election Commission will keep a check on them. If anyone violates the code of conduct, action will be taken against him as per rules.
Responding to a question about the meeting between the Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina at Gana Bhavan regarding the nomination of the party candidate, the CEC said, “…if he (the Prime Minister) has held a meeting… then where is the problem?” Because the time has not yet come for us to implement the code of conduct.
“Where is the Prime Minister meeting, which meeting is she holding, the Prime Minister is not a candidate, may be a probable candidate… She will be a candidate after final approval by the Returning Officer,” the CEC said. Therefore, the main point of the law is that no candidate or any person on behalf of a candidate can violate the election code of conduct.
However, the Election Commission sent a letter to the Returning Officer on November 22 with instructions to warn Rajshahi-1 constituency MP Omar Farooq Chaudhary for “violating the code of conduct”.
When asked that if the code of conduct is not implemented before official campaigns, then how did the Election Commission send a warning instruction to the MP, the CEC sidestepped the question.