ONLINE DESK
A total of 144 political parties, among them the Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP), have failed to clear the Election Commission’s (EC) initial scrutiny for official registration.
EC officials announced on Tuesday that none of the newly applying parties fully met the necessary standards during the preliminary screening. To give them an opportunity to rectify the deficiencies, the Commission has extended a 15-day window for submitting missing documents and addressing procedural shortcomings.
“Following the first round of verification, we found various minor discrepancies in the applications of all 144 parties,” EC Additional Secretary KM Ali Newaz told reporters. “Letters will initially go out to 62 parties, with the remainder contacted in subsequent phases. Each has been given 15 days to resolve the issues.”
The current drive to register new political parties began on April 20 when the EC issued a circular inviting applications. After requests from 46 parties, including the NCP, the deadline was extended to June 22. By the close of the process, the Commission had received 147 applications, though three turned out to be duplicate submissions.
Bangladesh has been registering political parties under the Representation of the People Order, 1972 since 2008. At present, 51 parties are officially registered. To qualify for registration, a party must meet at least one of three conditions: winning a seat with its electoral symbol in any parliamentary election; securing at least five percent of the total votes in a constituency during a national poll; or maintaining an active central office and committee, along with offices in at least one-third of the country’s districts or in 100 upazilas or metropolitan areas, each with a minimum of 200 enrolled voters.
During the last national election cycle in January 2024, 93 parties sought registration. After initial assessments, the EC conducted field-level verifications on 12 of these, ultimately approving only two — the Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM) and the Bangladesh Supreme Party (BSP) — once they had addressed outstanding objections.
As Bangladesh looks ahead to future electoral cycles, the scrutiny process underscores the Election Commission’s continued push to ensure that only parties with credible organizational structures and grassroots support secure official standing. Whether the 144 currently under review can meet the compliance bar within the extended timeline remains to be seen.