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Published : 27 Mar 2025, 11:07 PM
Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker has said he received a copy of the High Court rule suspending the effectiveness of the public notice on political party registration ahead of the 13th national elections.
He said the rule was issued in response to a petition by the Rastro Songskar Andolan and there is no obstacle to the registration applications of other political parties except this one.
He said, “This public notice has not been suspended for all parties. A response to the court rule will also be given.
“There is no obstacle to the registration application of any party other than the Rastro Songskar Andolan.”
Ahead of the 13th parliamentary elections, the Election Commission (EC) led by AMM Nasir Uddin invited applications for new party registration on Mar 10.
According to the EC’s public notice, political parties have the opportunity to apply for registration by fulfilling the specified conditions per the existing laws and regulations until Apr 20.
The EC's condition says the party will be registered if it has an active central office, effective committees in at least one-third (21) of Bangladesh’s administrative districts, and a document showing the support of at least 200 voters in each of at least 100 Upazilas or metropolitan police stations.
The petition was filed by Hasnat Qayum, the chief of the Rastro Songskar Andolan and a Supreme Court lawyer, claiming the public notice is “contrary to the basic spirit of the Constitution”.
On Mar 18, the High Court suspended the validity of the public notice issued by the EC for the registration of political parties.
The HC bench of Justices M Akram Hossain Chowdhury and KM Rasheduzzaman Raja issued a rule questioning why the public notice should not be declared illegal and void.
The EC, the Chief Election Commissioner and the Secretary of the EC Secretariat have been asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
