Awami League now to lose registration, become disqualified for parliamentary elections
EC waiting for the publication of the gazette on the ban to decide on AL’s registration, says CEC AMM Nasir Uddin
The Awami League (AL), which is set to be banned officially on Monday (12 May), will lose its registration with the Election Commission (EC) as a parliamentary party and thus will be disqualified from contesting the upcoming national election, according to electoral laws.
The party's registration will be cancelled by the Election Commission in line with Section 90H (1) (b) of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972.
Also, as per Section 90C (1) (3) of the RPO, the EC shall not register AL again after it is banned by the government.
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Registration with the EC is mandatory for any political party to qualify to contest in the national election.
Amidst growing protests for banning the AL, the interim government at an emergency Advisory Council meeting last night (10 May) decided to ban the party under the anti-terror laws, and an official order to this effect will be issued on Monday.
"In the Advisory Council meeting, it was decided that until the trial of the Bangladesh Awami League and its leaders at the International Crimes Tribunal is completed, all activities of the Awami League — including in cyberspace — will be banned under the Anti Terrorism Act," said Law Adviser Asif Nazrul after the meeting ended at around 11pm yesterday.
He said the decision was made "in order to protect national security and sovereignty, ensure the safety of the leaders and activists of the July uprising, and safeguard plaintiffs and witnesses of the International Crimes Tribunal".
Regarding the matter, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin this morning (11 May) said the EC is waiting for the publication of the gazette on the ban to take a decision regarding AL's registration as a political party.
"If the gazette is published tomorrow, we will sit and discuss before deciding on AL's registration issue. We will have to decide going with the spirit of the present Bangladesh," he said while speaking to reporters at his home in Dhaka.
During last night's meeting, the interim government also approved an amendment to the International Crimes Tribunal Act, allowing the tribunal to punish any political party, its affiliated organisations, or supporter groups.
The decisions came in the face of mass protests demanding a ban on AL, led by the National Citizen Party (NCP), which started in Dhaka last Thursday night and continued till the government announcement last night.
Awami League, often described as the biggest political party of the country, was in disarray after Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister and the leader of the party, was ousted on 5 August and had to flee to India.
Hasina's fall was made possible by a student-led movement commonly known as the July Uprising, beginning as a demand to remove the quota system in government jobs and soon turning into a demand to remove Hasina from power due to her government's indiscriminate killing of protesters.
The call to ban the Awami League grew louder since Hasina's departure, and the demand gained pace after ex-president Abdul Hamid left the country under the interim government's eyes.
Later on, leaders and activists of the National Citizen Party and other like-minded parties came to the streets, first staging a sit-in in front of the chief adviser's residence and later gathering in Shahbag, demanding an immediate ban on AL.
Following the student protests, the interim government made the decision to ban AL last night.
AL's election track record
Hasina and her party leaders used to boast of AL's record of contesting elections, portraying it as an election-centric political party.
Except for the two national elections in 1988 and in February 1996, the AL contested in all 10 elections held since the country's independence.
But the party has been accused of trampling the country's electoral democracy by holding three consecutive controversial elections in 2014, 2018, and 2024 to cling to power.
However, the Hasina regime could not survive and was toppled in last year's July Uprising. After her government fell and Hasina fled to India, AL is now facing an unprecedented existential crisis.
