, Oct. 23 -- The government on Thursday approved the draft RPO (Amendment), barring fugitives from contesting elections and reintroducing a 'No' vote option in constituencies with a single candidate.

The Council of Advisers cleared the draft Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 (RPO) in its weekly meeting, held at the Chief Adviser's Office with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in the chair.

Besides disqualifying court-declared fugitives and reintroducing the 'No' option, the draft RPO also raises the security deposit for candidates to Tk 50,000 from the previous Tk 20,000. It further drops the provision for using electronic voting machines (EVMs).

In the proposed law, the authority of the Election Commission was r...