Dhaka, Sept 25 – A registered political party that would not participate in parliamentary polls for two consecutive elections would face the risk of losing registration, Election Commission (EC) said on Tuesday. Commission secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said this while talking to the journalists at his office at the Election Bhaban in the capital.
“If any political party does not take part in general elections for two consecutive elections, the party will face the risk of losing its registration,” the secretary said.
Such statement came when it is being discussed in the political arena about participatory elections where all political parties would contest the polls.
In the tenth general elections, some political parties including the major political party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the elections over the demand for holding the poll under a caretaker government.
As per the political party registration act, a party loses its registration if it does not participate in the parliamentary polls for two consecutive elections.
Regarding the amendment of Representation of People Order (RPO), Helal Uddin Ahmed said EC has sent a proposal for the amendment to the law ministry. The ministry will place it before the cabinet for nodding, he said.
“The proposal will go to the parliament only after getting the approval of the cabinet. We still don’t know about the latest condition of it. If the RPO is amended it is good, but if everything does not go well, the elections would be held under the current RPO,” he added.
The EC sent a number of proposals including the provision for using electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the upcoming 11th parliamentary polls.
While the EC was sending such proposal, a number of political parties raised their voices against such unilateral decision without any consultation with them.
Asked about whether EVMs would be used in general elections, the secretary said, “No decision has been taken yet. The Commission would decide if the RPO is amended. If it is not possible to use EVM in general elections, we have many local government polls. The machines would be used there.”
About the general election schedule, he said, “The schedule would be announced on any day after October 30. EC is taking preparation considering the timeframe for holding polls.”
He said the Commission is taking preparation for holding the polls by December.
Asked about the election centres for national elections, he said, “There will be a total of 40,199 election centres across the country.
The preparation is almost complete. When the schedule will be announced, the returning officers would send the list to us. Then it would be published in the Gazette.”
He also said the EC has started sending Compact Disks to the 10 regional election offices from September 25 for preserving the voter lists in it.
About entire preparation of elections, he said, “EC is working on it. Information about the judicial magistrates who will work in elections is being collected. Preparation for giving training is underway. It will begin after the announcement of schedule. The election officials will receive training from regional election offices.” – Staff Reporter
