BNP may have to amend charter to comply with RPO

The BNP may have to amend its constitution again to make the provision on its foreign chapters comply with the Representation of the People Order (RPO).
Though its December 8 national council approved a set of changes to its charter including the provisional ones made to meet the criteria for registration with the EC last year, the provision on foreign chapters still does not conform to the RPO.
The RPO says a political party shall not be qualified for registration if its constitution provides for setting up or operating any office, branch or committee outside the territory of Bangladesh.
The amended BNP constitution allows the expatriate Bangladeshis believing in the party's policies, ideals, objectives and programmes to form organisations following laws of the country they are living in.
The BNP may have to delete some words from the provision, as the EC earlier did not accept the AL charter for having the same words in its provision on foreign units.
Officials at the EC Secretariat said the BNP finds itself in this situation as it had followed the wordings of the AL's provision on foreign chapters before registration with the EC.
At that time, the AL rewrote the provision in consultation with the EC. The commission accepted the provisional constitution, as it was focussing on holding the ninth parliamentary election instead of getting down to the nitty-gritty of the charter language.
Later, when AL turned in its constitution ratified by the national council on July 24, the EC raised objections to two provisions--one on the party's foreign chapters and the other one that allowed Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad, an organisation of pro-AL doctors, to remain an associated body.
AL has lately amended the provisions that ran counter to the RPO. It has scrapped Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad's status as associated body and also modified the provision on foreign chapters.
The amendment has seen the words “aims, objectives and policies” crossed out from the provision on foreign chapters, which now says Bangladeshis living abroad temporarily or permanently can organise on the basis of AL's ideals and in line with the laws of the country concerned.
When his attention was drawn to a similar provision in the BNP constitution, a senior EC official said they would do whatever they did regarding the AL's charter since the language of the provisions are identical.
A new provision that the amended BNP charter has on associated bodies too may not conform to the RPO that requires the political parties to sever ties with affiliated or associated bodies comprised of professionals including teachers, students and labourers.
Last year, the BNP scrapped Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Sramik Dal's status as front organisations to meet the registration criteria.
But its charter says professionals believing in the BNP's policies, ideals, objectives and programmes can form organisations to protect their professional interests, and those organisations will be considered associated bodies of the party.
EC secretariat officials said the new provision in the BNP charter seems to encourage professionals to organise and enjoy status of associated bodies. It clearly undermines the spirit of the RPO.
They said they would examine the BNP's ratified constitution in light of the RPO and place suggestions for the EC to decide on the next course of action.
If the BNP constitution needs further amendment, the party will not face much difficulty as its charter has a provision empowering the party chairperson to amend it on an urgent basis and have it endorsed by the council at a later time.
Before the provisional amendments, the AL central working committee used to approve the formation of a foreign unit. The central committees of AL chapters abroad would enjoy the status of a district unit at home. They had to follow AL's charter in running their activities.
Similarly, the BNP chairperson used to approve a foreign unit of the party. On receiving the approval, the central body of the chapter would have the status of a district unit BNP. Besides, presidents of the foreign chapters' central committees used to be ex-officio members of the BNP's national executive committee.