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Published : 09 Jul 2025, 09:50 AM
The Election Commission (EC) has started scrutinising applications for registering new political parties ahead of the 13th national parliamentary elections.
The committee on the matter has initially decided to give the parties 15 days to fix any minor errors or add any missing documents.
After that, the concerned officials will review the organisational structure of the parties that pass the initial screening and investigate whether the documents provided, including regarding central and field level offices, are correct and meet the constitutional body’s conditions.
Ahead of the next elections, 147 applications have been submitted by 144 parties seeking registration. The application could be submitted between Mar 10 and Jun 22 as per the registration rules. Three parties submitted multiple applications.
The EC Secretariat has assigned 20 officials to scrutinise the applications and take necessary action according to the law and election rules. The committee in this regard also held a meeting on Monday to review the applications and review its progress.
The meeting proposed to give time to the parties to resolve any inconsistencies, the spellings of names and titles, and minor information gaps in the documents submitted alongside the EC application.
Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker said, “We will initially request information and give the parties time to respond. A letter will also be sent on the matter. They will have 15 days from the date the letter is sent. They will be able to correct any errors within the specified time.”
If the information cannot be provided within the specified time and the initial conditions for selection are not met, or the correct information is not available, the application will be rejected.
After that, the information will be verified and an investigation will be conducted, he said. If all the conditions are met properly, the eligible party will be registered.
The application for registration must be submitted under the party’s letterhead. The party’s constitution, election manifesto (if any), party rules (if any), a picture of the party’s logo and party flag, a list of names of all members of the party’s central committee, bank accounts with their latest updates, the source of funds, the party registration applicant’s power of attorney, a copy of the non-refundable treasury invoice for the registration fee, and proof of meeting any one of the three conditions for registration must be submitted.
The conditions for registering a new party are that the party must have an active central office, effective committees in at least one-third of the country's administrative districts (21 districts), and a list of at least 200 voters in each of at least 100 Upazila/metropolitan Thanas as members.
After scrutinising the applications, the commission will conduct a field report to verify whether the parties that pass the initial screening meet the registration conditions.
Objection to the registration of any party will also be considered. If the commission receives objections after issuing the notification, both sides will be heard, and the application will be approved or rejected accordingly.
If the party survives the selection process and claims and objections are resolved, the party will receive a registration certificate in the final stage.
Out of the hundred or so parties that sought registration in the 12th parliamentary elections, 81 applications were rejected in the initial selection, and 12 parties were investigated. In the end, only two new parties were registered.
Currently, there are 50 parties registered with the EC. These parties are cleared to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections under their party symbols.
