Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday called on the government to keep the option for political parties within an alliance to contest elections with a common symbol.
He made the call at a meeting with law adviser Asif Nazrul on the recently approved amendments to the Representation of the People Order 1972.
On October 23, the interim government endorsed the amendments, incorporating the provision for the use of聽 respective party symbols instead of a common one for any electoral alliance in the Jatiya Sangsad elections.
Salahuddin demanded that the earlier provision allowing alliance partners to contest elections under a common symbol be maintained.
He observed that the new rule could disadvantage smaller parties and limit parliamentary representation.
After the meeting at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital Dhaka, Salahuddin told reporters that his party had earlier agreed with most of the Election Commission鈥檚 proposed reforms, including measures related to the 鈥榥o vote鈥� provision, increased candidate deposits, and stronger authority for the commission to cancel polls in the event of irregularities.
The BNP also supported higher fines for code-of-conduct violations.
However, Salahuddin said that his party disagreed with the new clause on election symbols, arguing that it would disadvantage smaller parties within alliances.
He explained that the previous rule allowed registered political parties within a coalition to contest elections using either their own symbol or that of another party in the alliance 鈥� a flexibility that had fostered inclusiveness and representation.
鈥榃e believe this freedom should remain,鈥� Salahuddin said, adding that such a provision would strengthen Bangladesh鈥檚 multiparty democracy and help ensure that parliament represents diverse voices and leadership.
Salahuddin said that he had earlier discussed the issue informally with the law adviser, who had assured him that the matter would be raised for further consideration by the government.
Salahuddin said that he met Asif Nazrul again to formally submit a written appeal requesting that the previous provision be restored.
The BNP also sent a similar letter, signed by its secretary general, to the chief election commissioner on Sunday.
鈥楳any smaller parties may not have large follower base, but they include important national leaders. Allowing them to contest under a common symbol helps ensure that parliament benefits from a diversity of ideas and opinions,鈥� Salahuddin said.
He said that the law adviser had promised to present the BNP鈥檚 concerns to the government and discuss it with other advisers and, if necessary, the Election Commission.
Salahuddin also criticised the Electoral Reform Commission for not consulting political parties on the amendment, saying it had neither discussed the issue with them nor tried to build a national consensus.
He added that imposing such a clause without consultation was neither fair nor democratic.