AL constitution still not RPO-proper

The Election Commission (EC) yesterday decided to ask the ruling Awami League (AL) to further amend the party constitution as it still contains provisions in conflict with the Representation of the People Order (RPO).
It also decided to ask three other parties--Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Samyabadi Dal and Jatiya Party (JP-Manju) -- to include new provisions in their constitutions to meet the criteria for registration, EC officials said.
"We will ask the parties to correct their constitutions in line with the RPO provisions,” Election Commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hossain told The Daily Star when contacted.
Two provisions in the ratified AL constitution run counter to the RPO, the officials said after an EC meeting that took the decisions.
The provisions still recognise Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad and Awami Ainjibi Parishad along with some more as associated bodies of AL, and allow formation of party units abroad, they said.
But the RPO does not allow any party to have any associated or affiliated body consisting of teachers or students of any educational institution, or employees or workers of any financial, commercial or industrial establishment or institution, or the members of any other profession.
In compliance with the RPO provision, the AL dropped names of Sramik League and Chhattra League from the list of its associated bodies.
The ruling party ratified the provisional amendments to its constitution at the July 24 national council, and submitted a copy of those to the EC. The provisional changes were made before the ninth parliamentary polls to meet the registration criteria.
The constitution of LDP lacks provision for reserving 33 percent posts for women in all party committees including the central committee, and achieve this goal by 2020.
Its charter also does not provide for nomination of candidates for parliamentary polls by the parliamentary board of the party from the panels prepared by members of ward, union, thana, upazila or district committees concerned.
The constitutions of Samyabadi Dal and JP also do not have provisions for reserving 33 percent positions for women in all party committees including their central committees, and achieve this by 2020, EC officials said.
Earlier, the EC had formed an experts' committee, which also included some of its senior officials, to examine the political parties' constitutions submitted to it.
The committee yesterday placed before the EC its findings about the four parties' charters, meeting sources said.
It is now scrutinising the charters of other registered political parties.
A total of 39 parties got registered with the EC before the December 29 parliamentary election.
Excepting the LDP, all other parties brought provisional changes in their constitution to meet the registration criteria and promised to ratify those within six months of the first sitting of ninth parliament.
The time limit was extended by another six months by amending the RPO as some parties including the BNP failed to do so.
BHOLA-3
The EC also decided to ask the parliament secretariat to take necessary steps so that Maj (retd) Jasim Uddin's parliament seat (Bhola -3) becomes vacant following the Supreme Court verdict in this regard, EC officials said.
The SC on October 18 upheld the High Court verdict that declared illegal the EC's decision to allow him to contest the ninth parliamentary election from Bhola-3 on AL nomination.
The EC got a copy of the verdict and discussed it at yesterday's meeting.
“We will ask the parliament secretariat to take necessary steps to this effect. We will go for by-election once the seat is declared vacant,” Sohul Hossain told this correspondent.