80 political parties submit required documents to EC for registration
With the 13th national parliamentary election approaching, 80 political parties have submitted supplementary documents to the Election Commission (EC) to fulfill conditions required for official registration.
A total of 145 political parties had applied for registration with the EC.
Following a preliminary review, none of the applications fully met the requirements.
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On 19 July, the EC issued letters to all 145 parties, allowing them 15 days until 3 August to submit the missing documents.
On Sunday, Director (Public Relations) and spokesperson of the EC Shariful Alam confirmed that 80 parties submitted the requested information by the deadline.
According to EC sources, 147 applications were submitted by 145 parties by the end of June.
However, all were found lacking during initial scrutiny.
Later, 144 partiesc including the National Citizen Party (NCP), were granted time to provide the missing documents.
Key requirements for registration include having an active central committee, committees in at least one-third of the districts and in 100 upazilas, each backed by the signatures of at least 200 voters.
Additionally, parties that had a candidate elected to parliament in a previous election or received at least 5% of valid votes also qualify.
Following document submission, the EC will carry out verification and field investigations. After addressing any claims or objections, a final list of registered parties will be published.
NCP submits updated documents
The NCP submitted its registration application on 22 June.
The EC had given the party until 3 August to complete its submission.
On the final day, NCP officials appeared at the commission and submitted the necessary documents.
Joint Member Secretary Zahirul Islam Musa stated, "Based on the EC's request and our internal review, we have submitted new documents today. We hope the EC will now move to the next stage of our registration process."
He also noted that while the party hopes for the Shapla (water lily) symbol, nothing can be confirmed until the registration certificate is officially issued.
"Symbols are allocated once the registration certificate is granted. Since we haven't received it yet, we can't comment on the symbol. While it's not currently in the schedule of symbols, the rules allow for updates. The EC can amend it if it wishes," he added.
