EC approves registration of three new political parties, including NCP

A statement is to be published in different newspapers on Wednesday calling for objections to the registrations

The Election Commission has approved the registration of three new political parties -- the National Citizen Party, the Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist), and the Bangladesh Aam Jonogon Party.

EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said at the Nirbachan Bhaban on Tuesday, "The Election Commission has decided to register three new parties today. The parties are -- the Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist), the Bangladesh Aam Jonogon Party, and the National Citizen Party (NCP)."

"A statement will be published in the papers tomorrow calling for demands and objections to be submitted until Nov 12. After these objections and demands are settled, they will be granted their official certificates."

Akhtar said the period for settling claims and objections will end on Nov 12.

"After that, it is expected that the final gazette for political party registration will be published between the 14th and 15th of November."

The 13th parliamentary election is scheduled to be held in the first half of February before Ramadan next year.

The EC is to announce the schedule in the first half of December. Although preparations are progressing, the constitutional body has lagged in its party registration process. The EC's roadmap said it would publish the registration gazette for new parties by September.

On Mar 10 this year, the EC, led by AMM Nasir Uddin, invited applications from new parties interested in registration. After a one-time extension, 143 parties applied by Jun 22.

After failing to meet registration conditions, 121 parties were dropped in the primary selection. The EC's related committee conducted on-site investigations into the remaining 22 parties. On Sept 30, it was announced that registration would be granted to the National Citizen Party (NCP) and the Bangladesh Jatiya League.

Then “complications” arose over the allocation of the election symbol requested by the NCP. As the party stuck to its demand for a “Shapla” symbol, the Election Commission eventually added the “Shapla Koli” to the list of accepted symbols. The NCP has since agreed to use this symbol.

In October, the EC launched a fresh investigation into the Bangladesh Jatiya League's registration. At the time, the constitutional body responsible for organising the elections had announced that it would reinvestigate field-level information on 10 parties still on the path to registration.