The Election Commission has found information gaps or deficiencies in the applications of all 144 political parties, including the National Citizen Party, which applied for registration聽 ahead of the upcoming national election.
Election Commission additional secretary KM Ali Nawaz said on Tuesday told reporters that letters were being issued to 62 parties in the first phase, giving them 15 days to correct the identified deficiencies.
He said that the remaining 82 parties, including the NCP, formed by the student leaders of July uprising, would also be notified in the second phase.
The EC initially issued a public notice on April 20 inviting applications for party registration.
Following requests from several parties, including the NCP, the deadline was extended until 22 June.
By that time, 144 parties submitted a total of 147 applications.
Under existing laws, political parties seeking registration must submit their applications on official letter-head, along with various prescribed documents, such as the party constitution, election manifesto (if available), and any relevant internal rules.
Parties must also provide images of their logo and flag, a list of central executive committee members with their designations, and details of a bank account in the party鈥檚 name, including the account number, name of the bank, and the current status of the account.
Applicants were also required to provide information about the party鈥檚 sources of funds and a power of attorney, authorising an individual to submit the application on behalf of the party. A rule required that a non-refundable registration fee of Tk 5,000 must also be submitted with the application.
According to laws, to qualify for registration, a party must provide documentary proof of meeting at least one of the following criteria: having won a parliamentary seat in any election since Bangladesh鈥檚 independence; securing at least 5 per cent of votes in constituencies contested in any parliamentary election; or maintaining an active central committee, a central office, district offices in at least one-third of the country鈥檚 administrative districts, operational offices in at least 100 upazilas or metropolitan thanas, or at least 200 registered party members in these areas.
Once a party thus qualifies for registration, the EC will issue a registration certificate in Form-3 and publish the party鈥檚 name in the official government gazette.
Currently, 50 parties are registered with the EC.
The party registration system was introduced before the 9th parliamentary election in 2008.
