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Published : 13 Nov 2025, 09:05 AM
With the parliamentary election slated for the first half of February and the schedule due in early December, the Election Commission (EC) opens talks with political parties on Thursday with 12 parites across two sessions. But even before the first meeting, a thorny question looms: will the EC invite the Jatiya Party (JP) when the party itself is split into rival camps?
Adding to the pressure, the Gono Odhikar Parishad has urged the EC not to invite the Jatiya Party or allies of the Awami League-led 14-Party Allince to the dialogue. It has also demanded that office-holders of the now-banned Awami League be barred from running as “independents”.
Officials say a phased plan to meet registered parties through November is final. On Thursday, the Election Bhaban at Agargaon will host two sittings, with up to three representatives per party:
Morning, 10:00–12:00: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Bangladesh Congress, Bangladesh Muslim League, National People’s Party (NPP), Bangladesh Khilafat Andolon, Jamiat Ulamaye Islam Bangladesh.
Afternoon, 14:00–16:00: Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSaD), Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BaSaD), Revolutionary Workers Party, Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF), and Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM).
Beyond day one, the EC has not published an invite list, leaving unresolved whether when the Jatiya Party will be called.
Election analyst Abdul Alim says the commission should resolve the Jatiya Party’s status before sending invitations. “This is what the EC should settle first. Before the dialogue, decide which Jatiya Party they will recognise as authentic,” he said.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin has publicly acknowledged the uncertainty. “We have half a dozen ‘Jatiya Parties’," he said. "More than one is claiming the 'plough' symbol. When you say ‘JaPa’, I’m confused… give us time.”
He has not said which faction, if any, will be invited.
The party is effectively split three ways: around GM Quader, Raushon Ershad, and Anisul Islam Mahmud. Both the Raushon-aligned and Mahmud factions have formally staked claim to the polls logo "plough", insisting Quader lacks a valid committee.
Quader’s Secretary General Shamim Haider Patwary counters that no one else can lawfully receive the symbol.
Former EC additional secretary and member of the Election Reform Commission, Jesmin Tuli, says that unless and until the EC decides otherwise, “the Jatiya Party that exists in EC records must be treated as the party of record”.
Whom to invite and how to demonstrate a level playing field are “entirely the EC’s own decisions”, she added, stressing the need to preserve neutrality and transparency.
GONO ODHIKAR’S DEMANDS
On Wednesday, Gono Odhikar Parishad met the CEC and formally requested that the EC exclude the Jatiya Party and former allies of the 14-Party Alliance from the talks, and prevent the Awami League office-bearers from running as independents.
After the meeting, its General Secretary Rashed Khan warned of protests if those groups are invited. If Awami League figures run as independents, "they will try to sabotage the election,” he warned.
The party also cited attacks on its offices in Dhaka and other districts and repeated its call, which is shared by the NCP and Jamaat-e-Islami, for the Awami League’s de-registration to be followed by the exclusion of its allies from the process.
WHO IS REGISTERED, WHO IS COMING NEXT
The EC currently lists 53 registered parties, including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. The Awami League’s registration is suspended; the PDP, Freedom Party and Oikyo Jote have been de-registered.
Three new outfits, NCP, Bangladesh Aamjanagan Party and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal–Marxist, are at the final stage of registration and, absent objections, are expected to receive certificates after Nov 12.
The Jatiya Party was not invited to the National Consensus Commission’s dialogue in October, despite serving as the official opposition for much of the past decade-and-a-half. Since August, the party has fractured further, with the Quader, Raushon and Mahmud groupings each claiming to be the “main” party and to control the symbol.
WHAT THE FACTIONS SAY
Quader’s camp expects to be invited. “We see no uncertainty about being called,” said Shamim Patwary. “The Consensus Commission was not a constitutional body and did not invite all registered parties. The EC is constitutional and must invite registered parties. Not inviting us would breach its oath.”
He added that the JP will decide on contesting the polls after assessing workers’ security and the "overall level playing field".
“If an election is attempted without the Awami League and the Jatiya Party, which are two of the four major parties, the process will stumble and any future government will lack stability,” Patwary said.
From his camp, Anisul Islam Mahmud said their application to the EC remains undecided and they have not been told whom the EC will invite. “We have applied, but there has been no communication. All registered parties should be called,” he added.
Pressed on how the rival claims over the "plough" symbol should be resolved, analyst Abdul Alim pointed to earlier court observations on party authority and symbols.
“They must decide everything themselves. Others have little to add. If anything else is attempted, it will go to court. With the election approaching, it must not be left hanging,” he said.
EC’S TIGHTROPE: INVITE OR DECIDE FIRST?
The EC has not yet said whether it will invite the Jatiya Party while the symbol and leadership are contested, or first decide which grouping constitutes the party of record.
“As long as the EC has not decided, it will rely on what the EC’s own papers show,” Tuli said. “The EC must be clear with itself, it needs to preserve neutrality and keep the process transparent.”
The question is not academic. If the EC invites one JP faction, the others will challenge the decision; if it invites none, it will face objections from registered parties.
As Abdul Alim put it: “If the EC doesn’t invite them, GM Quader will ask why, and the other factions will too. First decide which is the real party.”
DAY 1 AGENDA UNCHANGED, FOR NOW
For Thursday, the Commission is proceeding with 12 parties across two sessions, focusing on code-of-conduct enforcement after the recent RPO amendment, security coordination with law enforcement, and a level playing field.
The EC has already held rounds with experts, media and women leaders, and inter-ministerial meetings, after the National Consensus Commission wrapped up its own process in October and the government issued the RPO amendment as an ordinance.
Whether the Jatiya Party enters the room later this month now hinges on a prior decision the EC can no longer postpone: which Jatiya Party is, in law and in the commission’s records, the Jatiya Party.
