Dhaka, Dec. 9 -- Bangladesh has issued a gazette amending several articles of the Representation of the People Order (RPO), bringing changes to postal ballot counting, the powers of election officials, and the authority of the judicial committee.

The changes have been made ahead of the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum, expected to take place on the same day in February next year.

The ordinance replaces clause 10 of Article 27 with specific grounds for rejecting postal ballots.

A new sub-section, Article 37(37A), outlines a dedicated procedure for counting those ballots.

WHEN POSTAL BALLOTS WILL BE CANCELLED

Under the amended provision, a postal ballot will be rejected if:

· No tick or cross mark is placed against ...