EC calls for applications from new political parties for registration

Highlights

• Applications will be accepted until 20 April
• Process will follow the same laws and regulations as before for party registration
• Applicants must submit a non-refundable registration fee of Tk5,000

The Election Commission (EC) has announced it will register new political parties in preparation for the upcoming 13th National Parliament elections. 

In a public notice issued today (10 March), the EC invited applications from new parties interested in participating in the elections.

It said applications will be accepted until 20 April, following the same laws and regulations as before for party registration.

According to the public notice, political parties wishing to register under Article 90A of the Representation of the People Order, 1972, and capable of meeting the conditions outlined in the Political Party Registration Rules, 2008, are invited to submit applications by completing Form-1 as per the EC's guidelines.

"Interested political parties must submit applications on their official letterhead along with necessary documents, including the party constitution, electoral manifesto (if any), party rules (if any), images of the party logo and flag, a list of all central executive committee members with their designations, bank account details maintained in the party's name with the most recent balance, details of funding sources, and authorisation letter for the person applying for registration," it said. 

Additionally, applicants must submit a non-refundable registration fee of Tk5,000 through a treasury deposit slip made out to the secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat.

The public notice of the EC also outlined several eligibility criteria for registration. 

"Parties must provide documentation proving one of the following: winning at least one seat while contesting with a party symbol in any parliamentary election since Bangladesh's independence. Alternatively, they can show evidence of securing at least five percent of the total votes cast in constituencies where the party contested in any parliamentary election since independence," it read.

A third option is demonstrating organisational strength by having an active central office, by whatever name it may be called, with a functional central committee. 

This option also requires functional offices in at least one-third of administrative districts. Additionally, parties must maintain operational offices in at least one hundred upazilas or metropolitan police stations. Each of these local offices must have at least 200 registered voter members, as per the EC public notice. 

The registration system for political parties was introduced in 2008 when the ATM Shamsul Huda-led Election Commission implemented legal reforms. Since then, 54 parties have received EC registration. 

Following the fall of the Awami League government during the July Uprising, the EC registered AB Party, Nurul Haq Nur's Gono Odhikar Parishad (GOP), Mahmudur Rahman's Nagorik Oikya, and Ganosamhati Andolon.

However, five parties — Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Freedom Party, Oikyabaddha Nagorik Andolon, PDP, and Jatiya Ganotantrik Party - JAGPA — later had their registrations cancelled due to failure to meet conditions or by court order. 

On 1 September last year, Supreme court lawyer Shishir Manir submitted a petition for restoration of the appeal against Jamaat's registration cancellation to the apex court on behalf of the party's Secretary General Miah Golam Parwar, seeking necessary directives.

On 1 August 2013, the High Court pronounced the verdict cancelling the registration of Jamaat as a political party. The EC issued a circular in this regard on 7 December 2018.

Later, Jamaat lawyers appealed against the verdict, which got "dismissed for default" by a six-member bench headed by then chief justice Obaidul Hassan due to the absence of Jamaat's chief lawyer during the appeal hearing on 19 November 2023.

As a result, the verdict that cancelled the registration of the Jamaat-e-Islami remained in force.

On 22 October last year, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court restored the Jamaat-e-Islami's appeal.

Four days before the fall, the ousted Awami League government on 1 August banned all political activities of Jamaat and its various wings, including the Islami Chhatra Shibir, under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009.

The interim government on 28 August lifted the ban on Jamaat and Shibir.

There are currently 49 registered parties with the EC.