EC fines JP
The Election Commission has decided to fine the Jaitya Party Tk 10,000 for not submitting on time a statement on its expenditure during the January 5 national election.
This is the first time it will impose financial penalty on a party since the introduction of the political parties' registration system in 2008.
The commission made the decision at a meeting on Monday, Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz told The Daily Star yesterday.
The main opposition failed to submit the statement within the first 90-day timeframe after the election, which expired on April 23. Then the commission issued a warning notice giving the opposition an additional 30 days, which also expired on June 4, EC officials said.
“They [JP] ignored our directives. So, we are going ahead as per the law," Shah Nawaz said.
According to the electoral law, each political party that has competed in the national polls must submit an expenditure statement to the EC within 90 days after the election.
If any party fails to comply with the law, the commission will issue a notice of warning directing the party to submit the statement within the next 30 days. If the party fails this time as well, the commission will give it another 15 days to submit the statement with a Tk 10,000 fine.
The submission date will not be extended any further and the commission may cancel the party's registration this time for not submitting the statement, as per the electoral law.
The EC will send a letter to the JP in one or two days, asking it to submit the expenditure statement within the next 15 days along with the fine, Forhad Hossain, a senior assistant secretary to the EC Secretariat, told The Daily Star.
Talking to the newspaper by phone last night, JP Presidium Member Kazi Firoz Rashid claimed that the party submitted the statement yesterday.
Jesmin Tuli, joint secretary to the EC Secretariat, said the commission had not received any report.
"Even if the Jatiya Party has submitted the statement today [yesterday], it has to pay the fine because the deadline expired a few days ago," she said
Twelve parties contested the January 5 polls, in which 153 MPs out of 300 were elected unopposed.
Meanwhile, the EC will write letters next week to all the 40 registered political parties, excluding the Jamaat-e-Islami, asking them to submit their annual audit reports by July 31, EC sources said.
The High Court in August last year declared Jamaat's registration illegal, saying that its charter contradicts the constitution. An appeal against the verdict remains pending at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
SHAH NAWAZ BRIEFING
The commission has no jurisdiction to take action against Feni-2 lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari even if he gave false information in his affidavit submitted to the EC before the January 5 polls, Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz said yesterday.
Following a writ petition claiming that Nizam had resorted to forgery to get out of jail early and contest a seat in the polls, the High Court on Sunday asked the government and the EC to explain why his parliament seat should not be declared vacant.
"We can cancel one's candidacy, if we find out forgery in his affidavit before the election. Once they are elected MPs, it goes beyond our jurisdiction. Now, we can take action against an MP if the Speaker of parliament gives any order,” Shah Nawaz told reporters at his office.
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