Amidst the ongoing debate over whether to hold national or local government elections, the active political parties have become visible in participating in the elections. The new youth party, Jatiya Nagorik Party or NCP, which emerged amidst discussions and criticism, has been quite active in completing speedy registration. On the other hand, the Reform Commission's recommendation to relax the existing conditions for registration as a political party and the goodwill of the Election Commission has also shown a sense of unity.
This information came to light in a report published in the newspaper on Wednesday, 6 days after the NCP's formal debut and active program.
After paying homage at the National Memorial in Savar on Tuesday, Jatiya Nagorik Party convener Nahid Islam talked to journalists about fulfilling the conditions for registering as a political party with the EC and moving towards speedy registration. Stating that it is not possible to form a new Bangladesh by keeping the old constitution and governance structure, the party convener Nahid Islam said that Bangladesh can return to the path of true democracy through the Constituent Assembly elections.
Nahid Islam said, "At the moment, the first goal of the NCP is to expand its activities organizationally. We will move towards registration by quickly fulfilling the conditions that need to be met for registration. We will start working on the constitution within this month."
Referring to the need for a new republic and a new constitution and a Constituent Assembly, Nahid said, "We have talked about a second republic. We are working towards that goal. It is not possible to build a new Bangladesh by keeping the old constitution and governance structure. The welfare of the people and true democracy are not possible by changing the government alone."
On the other hand, due to the lack of time before this year's national elections, the Election Commission (EC) may not invite applications by specifying a deadline for party registration. The EC is saying that the issue of inviting applications by issuing a public notice is not legally mandatory. In the meantime, many parties have submitted applications. Many of the parties that did not get registration by applying to the previous EC last year have requested to re-evaluate their applications.
The current EC has told political parties that they will have to apply anew if they want registration. At least 29 parties are reportedly preparing to apply again. Thirteen new parties have applied and several more have contacted the relevant branch of the EC. But the Election Commission is waiting for the law to be amended.
If the law is not amended and there is no change in the conditions for party registration, this work will be completed under the existing law. Some parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, also believe that party registration is not necessary for voting. After a meeting with the Election Commission on February 13, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar told reporters, "We think that the elections should be held in the same way as before (before 2008) without party registration."
However, the Election Commission's recommendation to relax the conditions for political party registration has also become clear.