EC eyes changes to registration criteria for political parties

FE Team | Published: August 29, 2020 21:08:18

Political parties in Bangladesh are likely to be given more time to increase women's participation at all organisational levels in order to maintain their registration status, with the current deadline expiring in 2020, reports bdnews24.com.
As per the existing electoral law, political parties had to reach the target of 33 per cent representation by this year or risk facing expulsion.
But with most parties on course to miss the target, officials at the Election Commission (EC) questioned the practicality of cancelling their registration.
Faced with a choice between expunging the provision and extending the deadline, the commission prefers the latter, according to Election Commissioner Rafiqul Islam.
The EC has also decided to scrap two of the three mandatory clauses that a party must meet in order to be eligible for registration.
The proposed change is likely to be a big obstacle for any party looking to make its way back into the political fray.
Under the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972, a political party will be eligible for registration if it can fulfil one of three conditions. Two of these clauses, which the EC are planning to remove, involve having at least one member of the party who won a national election once after independence or a party candidate who bagged at least 5 per cent of votes cast in a national election.
The proposed amendment would mean that a party will now be required to have an active central office, active district committees in a third of the districts and secure 200 votes in 100 upazila or metropolitan thana levels to qualify for registration.
The EC is working on overhauling the existing legal framework to reflect these changes, Rafiqul told the news agency.
Addressing the possible changes to the law, the commissioner said, "Most of the parties couldn't meet the conditions. In particular, there is a stipulation requiring parties to raise the participation of women at all levels to at least 33 per cent by 2020. Now, should we start cancel their registration?
"The parties asked us to extend the deadline. They couldn't reach the target in 12 years, but we want to extend the time by another five to 10 years."
The EC will decide on whether to extend the deadline to 2025 or 2030 before sending the proposal to the law ministry, according to Rafique.
"We're taking a chapter from the RPO and proposing a new registration rule. The government and the parliament will then decide if there needs to be a separate legislation for it. In case a new law isn't passed, the RPO must be amended."
The RPO was last amended in 2008 ahead of the ninth general elections, introducing a registration system for political parties. The three registration clauses have been applicable throughout the past decade but parties have only been able to fulfil one of them.
The EC believes the first two registration clauses are no longer necessary.