Election Commission's (EC) efforts towards a consensus on registration of political parties before the parliamentary polls seem unlikely to succeed as the BNP-led four-party alliance remains opposed to joining talks with it.
BNP did not take part in the dialogue yesterday. Its coalition partners Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) are set to follow suit today.
In a letter to the commission yesterday morning, BNP said it will not participate in any dialogue if the recently promulgated 'unconstitutional' electoral provisions and rules are not scrapped.
Besides, it added, there is no point in talking about only registration when there are many other pressing issues left to be settled.
Worried over the developments, the EC wrote back to BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain in the afternoon. It invited the party afresh to the talks that began Saturday, said sources in the EC Secretariat.
BNP Office Secretary Rizvi Ahmed told reporters at 9:00pm that they have received the EC letter.
A decision on the fresh invitation will be made in consultation with senior leaders of the party and its allies, he added.
The EC letter said the BNP delegates in the dialogue can now discuss other issues as well.
Earlier in the day, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda replied in the negative to a query if they will wrap up the dialogue without participation of BNP. He said they will wait for the party.
Sources in the EC Secretariat said the commission still hopes BNP will join the talks that might be rescheduled for sometime next week.
The discussions have been arranged to resolve differences with the political parties over registration. The EC might even make some concessions to get the parties to register with it before the national election planned for December, they added.
Meanwhile, leaders of Jamaat and IOJ said they will not attend talks with the EC today.
Sources said the parties decided to stay off the dialogue at a meeting on September 1.
Alliance leaders said since the commission has lost its neutrality, they do not feel the need to sit with it.
They demanded that the EC have the new electoral provisions revoked and hold the long-stalled ninth parliamentary polls according to Representation of the People Order (RPO) revised till 2001.
In his letter to the CEC, the BNP secretary general said the commission's “unwarranted, immoral and partisan” attitude towards BNP leadership has disappointed people.
He said the new provisions do not reflect views of the majority since the BNP leaders were not allowed to give their opinions about amendments to the RPO.
Contacted by The Daily Star yesterday, Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, assistant secretary general of Jamaat, said they have nothing to discuss with the EC at this moment.
“It's not possible to register at such short notice,” he added.
Abdul Latif Nezami, IOJ secretary general, said they will send a letter to the EC today to convey their decision against the dialogue.
Of the four parties, BNP, Jamaat and IOJ have been invited to the talks on registration.
Bangladesher Jatiya Party (BJP), the other component of the alliance, was not invited as it does not qualify as a parliamentary party.
BJP won four seats in last parliament using BNP's electoral symbol.
REGISTRATION UNCERTAIN
The EC on August 25 announced that political parties must apply by October 15 for registration on meeting a set of criteria laid down in the revised RPO.
As per the conditions for registration, a party must sever ties with its front organisations and chapters abroad.
The commission plans to complete the registration by October and a few days after that announce schedule for the general election.
But most of the 16 political parties invited to the talks have been opposing registration before the polls. They argue it is not possible to amend their constitutions to qualify for registration within such a short period of time.
EC Secretariat officials fear the BNP-led alliance's boycott will only add to the uncertainty over registration.
If the parties stick by their decision, the EC might have to think up an alternative to registration before the national polls, they said.
Around two weeks have already passed since the EC first invited applications for registration. But there has been little progress towards registration, which is now mandatory for the parties seeking election to parliament.
Political analysts said there might be a dramatic shift in the BNP's stance on the dialogue issue with the release of its Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
The former prime minister's counsels yesterday filed two petitions with the High Court for her bail.
In a reversal of its policy towards factional feuds in BNP, the EC on August 28 invited Delwar to its talks on registration.
In November last year, the commission invited Saifur-led pro-reform faction to the electoral reform talks. The dissident group likened the invitation to recognition as the mainstream BNP.
BNP LETTER AND EC REPLY
The letter signed by the BNP secretary general said the EC has had several rounds of talks with different political parties. “But it did not care to consult BNP, the party that won the highest 195 seats in last parliament.”
A number of laws and regulations including the Voters' List Ordinance 2007, the Voters' List Rules 2008, Representation of the People Order Ordinance 2008 and the Political Parties Registration Rules 2008 have been framed without any discussions with BNP.
The same was the case when it re-demarcated the parliamentary constituencies.
“Since BNP could not give its opinion, these laws and regulations did not reflect the opinion of the majority,” read the letter carried to the CEC's office by a six-member delegation led by the BNP office secretary.
In response to BNP allegations, the EC letter said its previous discussions with the political parties were restricted to proposals for amendments to the RPO.
Re-demarcation of the constituencies was not on the agenda.