The Election Commission on Monday suspended the registration of Bangladesh Awami League after the government issued a gazette notification banning all activities of the party and its affiliated, associate, and like-minded organisations.
The gazette notification, issued by the home ministry earlier in the day, cited alleged crimes against humanity as the reason for the action.
Following the government鈥檚 move, the EC formally announced the suspension of the AL鈥檚 registration.
Election Commission senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed made the announcement at a press briefing held at the Election Bhaban at Agargaon in the capital at around 9:15pm.
鈥楢s you know, today the ministry of home affairs has banned all activities of the Bangladesh Awami League along with its affiliated and like-minded organisations. In line with that, the Election Commission has decided to suspend the registration of the Awami League,鈥� he said.
After the gazette was published in the afternoon declaring a ban on all activities of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations the EC convened a meeting at 5:30pm, with chief election commissioner A M M Nasiruddin in the chair.
After nearly four hours of discussion, the EC secretary announced that the party鈥檚 registration has been suspended.
The Awami League held registration number 6 and its electoral symbol was boat.
Political party registration, introduced by the Election Commission ahead of the 9th parliamentary elections in 2008, is mandatory to take part in general polls.
With the Awami League鈥檚 registration suspension, it can no longer contest elections while the number of registered political parties has come down to 49, following earlier cancellations of five other parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami.
On Monday noon, the home ministry issued a gazette notification imposing a ban on all activities of the Bangladesh Awami League and its affiliated, associate, and like-minded organisations.
Under the powers granted by section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, the ban will remain in force until the conclusion of trial proceedings against the party, its聽 leaders and activists in the International Crimes Tribunal.
According to the notification issued by the political branch of the public security division under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the ban鈥攅ffective immediately鈥� would cover all forms of publication, media and social media campaigns, processions, meetings, rallies and conferences organised by the Awami League and its associate entities.
Earlier, on May 10, the interim government at an emergency meeting of the council of advisers, decided to ban all activities of the Awami League, including those in cyberspace, until the trials of the party and its leaders are completed by the International Crimes Tribunal amid ongoing street protests in Dhaka and other areas.
The meeting also approved amendments to the International Crimes Tribunal Act, empowering the ICT to prosecute and punish organisations.
Following the decision of the council of advisers鈥� meeting, the the government amended the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, empowering the International Crimes Tribunal to ban any political party and approved the draft of the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 making provisions to ban individuals or entities.
The notification also said that the government has sufficient evidence that the AL and its allied organisations were engaged in criminal plots and activities resembling those of terrorist organisations, with the intent to destabilise and incapacitate the state and instil fear among the public.
Demonstrators, led by National Citizen Party leaders Nahid Islam and Hasnat Abdullah, on May 8 first gathered outside the chief adviser鈥檚 residence before moving to Shahbagh, a hub of political mobilisation in Dhaka.
The protesters put forward a number of demands, including the declaration of the AL and its affiliated bodies as terrorist organisations and their subsequent ban, the amendment of the International Crimes Tribunal Act to allow prosecution of political parties as collective entities, and the immediate issuance of a formal 鈥楯uly Proclamation鈥�.
