Dhaka, Oct 10 (bdnews24.com) – BNP will decide about party registration after its meeting with the government scheduled for Oct. 15 and would not mind if the deadline is pushed back, secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain has said.
"It won't hurt anyone if the deadline for registration with the Election Commission is deferred by a few days. The deadline should be shifted, because that will not hamper the election process in any manner," said Delwar.
He spoke to reporters after offering flowers at the memorial of martyred slain Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Naziruddin Jehad at Doinik Bangla intersection in Motijheel in the city on Friday.
On the occasion of the 18th death anniversary of the student leader Jehad killed during the anti-autocracy mass uprise in 1990, the BNP secretary general accompanied by a host of JCD leaders and veterans paid their respects by laying down floral tribute at 10 am at the memorial.
Indicating that BNP will go for registration soon, Delwar said, "The four-party alliance will take decision jointly about registration and that meeting will be held after BNP's meeting with the government."
The Election Commission has said political parties willing to go to general elections slated for Dec. 18 must register by Oct. 15 and the date will not be shifted.
Delwar said, "At the Oct, 15 meeting with the government, we'll raise the issues standing in the way of staging a free and fair election including the state of emergency."
Asked to comment on BNP's four-party coalition ally Jamaat-e-Islami's readiness for registration, he said, "We never said we're opposed to registration. We'll go for registration all right. But before that, we'd like to tell the government about our concerns, which include the RPO Ordinance 2008."
The Representation of the People Order, amended twice, gave way to new electoral laws that say a political party will not qualify for registration if any discrimination regarding religion, race, caste, language or sex is apparent in its constitution, or if it threatens to destroy communal harmony or lead the country to territorial disintegration.
The new law makes it mandatory for political parties to elect members of committees at all levels, including members of the central committee.
It also enforces provisions in a party's constitution for fixing the goal of reserving at least 33 percent of all committee positions for women and successively achieving this goal by the year 2020.
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