EC will invite 20 parties to talks on poll reforms
Friday, 17 August 2007
The Election Commission is going to invite around 20 political parties that fulfil the conditions of registration to discuss proposed reform of electoral laws, reports UNB.
The EC is considering the conditions of Political Party Registration Act (PPRA) as criteria for sending invitation, which is yet not finalised.
Meanwhile, the EC is likely to amend the newly issued 'Electoral Roll Ordinance 2007' soon to include the issue of registering the expatriates in the voter list.
"As per the Election Commission's criteria, there are around 18 to 20 political parties… The criteria are the conditions of registration," Election Commissioner M Sohul Hussain Thursday told the news agency when asked whom the EC would invite to sit for dialogue.
EC sources said as per the conditions, the parties eligible to get invitation are Awami League, BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiya Party, JSD, Bangladesh Jatiya League, Muslim League, Democratic League, NAP (Mozaffar), Jatiya Akota Party, CPB, JSD (Rab), JSD (Siraj), Workers Party of Bangladesh, Islami Oikya Jote, National Democratic Party, Ganatantri Party, Freedom Party, Jatiya Party (N-F), Jatiya Party (Manju), NAP and Ialami Oikya Front.
According to the draft, the first two conditions for registering as political party are: 'an existing political party must have won at least one seat in any of the National Assembly or Parliament elections held since independence of Bangladesh till the filing for registration or obtained no less than two percent of the total vote cast in any such elections'.
Replying to a query about what the EC would do if the political parties that don't fulfil criteria want to hold discussion, he said they would tell them "don't come… With how many parties we will sit?… There are some 177 parties."
When asked how they had set the registration conditions as criteria when the conditions were still proposed, he parried the question.
"That (registration conditions) would be the issue of discussion… (We) think that the registration conditions that we set would remain… But it may change if they (political parties) say no (to it)," Sohul said.
The EC is considering the conditions of Political Party Registration Act (PPRA) as criteria for sending invitation, which is yet not finalised.
Meanwhile, the EC is likely to amend the newly issued 'Electoral Roll Ordinance 2007' soon to include the issue of registering the expatriates in the voter list.
"As per the Election Commission's criteria, there are around 18 to 20 political parties… The criteria are the conditions of registration," Election Commissioner M Sohul Hussain Thursday told the news agency when asked whom the EC would invite to sit for dialogue.
EC sources said as per the conditions, the parties eligible to get invitation are Awami League, BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiya Party, JSD, Bangladesh Jatiya League, Muslim League, Democratic League, NAP (Mozaffar), Jatiya Akota Party, CPB, JSD (Rab), JSD (Siraj), Workers Party of Bangladesh, Islami Oikya Jote, National Democratic Party, Ganatantri Party, Freedom Party, Jatiya Party (N-F), Jatiya Party (Manju), NAP and Ialami Oikya Front.
According to the draft, the first two conditions for registering as political party are: 'an existing political party must have won at least one seat in any of the National Assembly or Parliament elections held since independence of Bangladesh till the filing for registration or obtained no less than two percent of the total vote cast in any such elections'.
Replying to a query about what the EC would do if the political parties that don't fulfil criteria want to hold discussion, he said they would tell them "don't come… With how many parties we will sit?… There are some 177 parties."
When asked how they had set the registration conditions as criteria when the conditions were still proposed, he parried the question.
"That (registration conditions) would be the issue of discussion… (We) think that the registration conditions that we set would remain… But it may change if they (political parties) say no (to it)," Sohul said.