A total of merely seven political parties have so far applied to the Election Commission (EC) for registration although the application deadline is set to expire on December 31.
Only a handful of new political parties, unlike 2013 and 2008, showed interest this time to get registered with the EC.
Only 43 new political parties applied in 2013 to the EC seeking registration and the then Commission-headed by Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad awarded the registration to only two parties --Bangladesh Sangskritik Muktijot (Muktijote) and Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF)-a few months before the 2014 national election.
Headed by KM Nurul Huda, the present EC on October 30 issued public notification seeking applications within December 31, 2017 from political parties to get registered with it.
According to UNB, Bangladesh Islamic Gazi, Bangladesh Janata Party, Jamiyate Ulamaye Islam and Nezame Islam Party, Bangladesh Jalali Party and Sonar Bangla Unnyan League are among the parties that applied for registration, said EC officials.
"After the expiry of the application submission deadline, the Commission will form a committee to scrutinise whether the applicants fulfil the conditions for having registration," said EC acting Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed adding that some applications were seen incomplete.
The EC will also ask intelligence agencies to provide information about the new parties before placing their names at the EC's meeting for taking the final decision to register those, he said.
The final list of the new parties is likely to be published in March next, the EC acting Secretary said.
As per the Representation of the People Order 1972, only registered political parties will be eligible to contest the parliamentary elections and local elections with their respective permanent election symbols reserved by the Election Commission, while unregistered parties can contest the polls fielding independent candidates.
Ahead of the 9th parliamentary elections in 2008, the Commission headed by ATM Shamsul Huda for the first time took initiative to bring the country's political parties under the EC's registration.
A total of 117 political parties applied for the registration following a public notification issued on October 15, 2008 in this regard.
But only 39 parties of the 117 applicants were registered after the submission of their draft organisational charters to meet the condition of getting registered.
Later, the Commission cancelled the registration of Freedom Party, one of the 39 registered parties, as the government banned the party and it did not submit its amended charter. Besides, the registration of Jamaat-e Islami was cancelled as the high court order in August 2013 declared its registration illegal.
In February, 2013, the Election Commission provided registration to another party --Bangladesh Muslim League-BML.
The number of registered political parties is now 40, including the two that got registration in 2013.
According the Article 90 (B) of the RPO, if any political party desires to be registered, it needs to fulfil one of the three conditions.
The three conditions are securing at least one seat with its electoral symbol in any parliamentary election held since Bangladesh's independence; or securing five percent of total votes cast in the constituencies in which its candidates took part in any of the aforesaid parliamentary elections; or established a functional central office, by whatever name it may be called with a central committee, district offices in at least in one-third administrative districts, offices in at least one hundred upazilas or metropolitan thana having a minimum number of two hundred voters as its members in each of them.
