Religion-based parties face registration hurdle
The Election Commission (EC) might face difficulties registering Islamic political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, as the existing laws do not allow parties to run activities in the name of or on the basis of religion.
The Special Powers Act (SPA) 1974 strictly restricts formation of political parties on the basis of religion. In addition to this, new provisions of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) now stand against registration of the Islamist political parties.
As of yesterday, 15 Islamic political parties collected application forms for registration with the EC. EC Secretariat officials said the number would increase as parties including Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and Islami Oikya Jote are yet to collect the forms.
The EC has formed an experts committee to scrutinise the constitutions of political parties wishing to get registered with the EC and the documents they submit with their applications for registration. After examining these, the committee will make recommendations to the EC.
A number of senior officials in the EC Secretariat said the commission might face difficulties handling the Islamist parties' registration--which will officially recognise them as parliamentary parties--as there are stringent restrictions on their formation.
According to section 20 of the SPA, no person shall form, or be a member or otherwise take part in the activities of, any communal or other association or union which in the name or on the basis of any religion has for its object, or pursues, a political purpose.
The SPA also states the procedure of taking actions including imprisonment against persons involved with such association and union.
The new RPO provision on registration of political parties, meanwhile, says a political party shall not be qualified for registration if any discrimination regarding religion, race, caste, language or sex is apparent in its constitution.
Legal experts said if the Islamist political parties use the religion for political purpose, they cannot get registered with the EC. And if their constitutions contain discriminatory provisions regarding religion, they clearly contradict the new provision of the RPO.
If the EC registers any such political party, bypassing the legal restrictions, it will have to face legal challenges, the experts fear.
Eminent jurist Shahdeen Malik said the conditions laid down in the RPO on registration of political parties can be seen in harmony with section 20 of the SPA that prohibits formation of political parties based on religion.
"It is a clear prohibition under criminal penalty. According to the Special Powers Act, there is no scope for registering the political parties based on religion," Malik told The Daily Star.
Earlier during electoral reform talks, Jamaat strongly opposed the EC's proposal for incorporating the provision in the RPO while other political parties referred to the SPA saying political parties based on religion cannot be registered with the EC.
In defence of drafting the proposal, the EC said they did nothing new but took the text from article 28 of the constitution that says the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
In response to the demand of political parties not based on religion for denying registration to the religion-based parties, the EC then assured them of looking into the matter when registration starts.
According to the constitutions of these Islamist parties, only religious Muslims can join their organisations and be members or leaders of the parties. Legal experts say this is discriminatory.
"If any organisation wants to discriminate on the basis of religion and claim such discrimination as its rights, the constitutional guarantee against non-discrimination will obviously have to be thrown away," Malik said.
"So, if someone claims the right to discrimination as more important than the constitution [of the country], it is obvious that they do not respect the constitution and the fundamental policies, principles and legal basis of our state," Malik asserted.
Asked to comment on the issue, Election Commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told The Daily Star that the EC will abide by the constitution.
On registration of religion-based political parties, he referred to the writ petition filed by Jamaat challenging a few RPO provisions and said, "We will abide by the court's order whatever it is."
After the EC proposal was made into a law, Jamaat recently challenged the provision with the High Court (HC).
The HC issued a rule on the government and the EC on August 28, asking them to explain within two weeks why three sections of the RPO 2008, including the rules that restrict registration of religion-based political parties, should not be declared illegal.
The 1972 constitution banned formation and functioning of any association or union or political parties on the basis of religion but the provision was later repealed during the military rule in 1976 allowing Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist parties to resume their activities.
The SPA 1974, however, is still in force and provides for such ban and punishment for violation of the provision.
All successive governments since the August 1975 changeover used the SPA to suppress opponents but turned a blind eye to the ban on political activities in the name or on the basis of religion.
Since the constitutional ban was repealed in 1976, Islamist political parties and organisations have mushroomed in the country. And no one knows the number of such parties and organisations as neither the government nor the EC has any accurate figures on them.
Records of government intelligence agencies, however, show existence and activities of about 100 Islamist political parties and organisations since the repeal of the ban, with around 11 existing between 1964 and 1971, sources said.
Of the existing parties and organisations apparently based on Islam, a few have been identified as militant outfits.
Exercising the power given by the SPA, the government banned four of them--Shahadat-e-Al Hiqma, Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, and Harkatul Jihad--during 2003-2005. A few organisations were accused of patronising the militant groups.
PARTIES THAT COLLECTED FORMS
Sixty-five political parties collected application forms for registration with the EC as of yesterday. However, most of them only exist in names and have very little activities.
The Awami League and the BNP are yet to collect the registration forms.
Islamist political parties that collected the forms are Islami Shashantantro Andolon, three factions of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Jamiyate Ulamaye Islam Bangladesh, two factions of Bangladesh Muslim League, Islamic Democratic Party, Islamic Front Bangladesh, Bangladesh Nezame Islam Party, Bangladesh Islami Biplobi Parishad, Bangladesh Islamic Party, Bangladesh Islami Front and Bangladesh Jamaate Haq.
Apart from the Islamist parties, Bangladesh Hindu League also collected the form.
Political parties wishing to get registered with the EC must submit applications with required documents to the EC by October 15. Registration with the EC is mandatory for the parties to qualify for contesting the parliamentary elections.
The 16 political parties that were invited to the talks with the EC are in a better position regarding their registration since they only have to amend their party constitutions and fulfil a number of conditions laid down in the RPO.
Minor parties, who have never won any parliamentary seat since 1972, will have to prove that they have a functional central office with a committee and branch offices in at least 10 districts and 50 upazilas or metropolitan cities to be qualified for registration.
Apart from the religion issue, constitutions of political parties must also conform to RPO conditions for not forming front organisations with students, teachers and professionals and cut relation with overseas units.
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