WP speaks of ways to ban religion-based parties

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The Election Commission (EC) can bar religion-based parties from getting registered even without a major policy decision by the government, the Workers Party (WP) said Friday, reports bdnews24.com.
If the Commission follows the preamble of the Constitution, Representation of the People Order and its own proposed rules for electoral reforms, the task could be done easily, the party suggested.
The WP said now is the time to take a decision.
At a press conference at Shahid Asad auditorium in the city, the party urged the government to form a tribunal following the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act 1973.
It said according to article 20 of the 1974 Special Powers Act, the formation of religion-based party is not only banned but it is a punishable crime.
The preamble of the Constitution highly speaks of the 'brave martyrs' who sacrificed their lives in 1971. It has spelt out that the spirit of independence war should be one of the fundamental principles of the Constitution.
The party, a component in the Awami League-led 14-party alliance, argued that failure to try anti-independence elements was a barrier to achieving democracy and peace.
The WP said the crimes the anti-liberation forces committed in 1971 were not against any individual but against humanity and the nation as a whole.
That the war criminals be tried and stopped from running in the polls had become 'a national demand', it observed.
The demand received a huge boost after the Chief Adviser, the army chief and the chief election commissioner spoke in clear terms against the war criminals.