Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has made further changes in its constitution to accept the lawmaking power of parliament and conform to the criteria for registration.
It has deleted from its revised charter the phrases that undermine the legislative authority conferred on parliament by the republic's constitution, said sources at the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat.
Section 2 (5) in the interim charter it submitted to the EC Monday said people must not accept anyone except Allah as the law-making authority. They must not swear loyalty to anyone except Allah.
Besides, it added, they shall refuse to obey anything that is not ordained by Allah and based on the laws coming from Him.
The technical committee commissioned by the EC to examine the registration applications found the phrases unconstitutional.
It asked Jamaat to get rid of the words when the party's legal affairs secretary met it at the EC Secretariat Wednesday afternoon.
In response, Jamaat hurried to fix the problem. In hours, it informed the committee that it had deleted the phrases in dispute, added the EC sources.
Following the deletion, the EC accepted Jamaat's charter, and said it does no longer run counter to the country's constitution.
Technical committee chief Nurul Islam Khan yesterday said, “We are pleased that Jamaat has discarded the phrases.”
Speaking to reporters at his office, he said, “We don't think the party now will have trouble getting registered.”
According to the revised Representation of the People Order (RPO), a political party shall not be qualified for registration if the objectives in its constitution contradict those in the constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the EC yesterday directed BNP not to keep Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal as its associated organisations, EC sources said.
It communicated the instructions to the party at a meeting with BNP Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan.
After the meeting at the EC Secretariat, the BNP leader told reporters that the party does not require any major changes in its revised charter.
“As far as I can make out, I don't see any obstacle for us to getting registered,” he said referring to his discussions with the EC.
In its provisional constitution turned in to the EC Monday, BNP scrapped the provision for front organisations, but had a section providing for associated bodies made up of students and workers.
The expert committee found that giving JCD and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal the status of associated organisations contradicts the registration criteria.
Sources in the EC said the commission is optimistic that like Awami League, BNP too will bring about the necessary changes in its constitution.
THE WAY JAMAAT MOVED
On a call from the technical committee, Jamaat's Legal Affairs Secretary Jasim Uddin Sarker rushed to the EC Secretariat Wednesday afternoon.
While leaving the EC Secretariat at around 5:00pm, he told the waiting reporters that he would talk to the party's high command and come back to the commission Thursday.
But the Jamaat leader got back to the EC Secretariat at 8:30pm the same day and informed the committee of his party's decision, said EC sources.
HOW MANY PARTIES TO GET REGISTERED?
As many as 107 political parties have applied for registration. Over half of them exist on paper only. Many do not meet the registration criteria, said sources close to the EC committee.
Committee head Nurul Islam said, “The number of organisations being qualified for registration might in the end range between 30 and 35. It would not exceed 40.”
Also joint secretary to the EC Secretariat, he said on EC's request, the home ministry Wednesday sent a list of banned political outfits.
According to the list, Shahadate-Al Hiqma, Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Jagrata Muslim Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB), and Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJi) have been banned by the government for terrorism in the name of religion.
The EC sought the list to ensure none of the banned organisations gets registered.
Queried if the Islamic Democratic Party, an organisation floated recently by members of HuJi, would qualify for registration, Nurul said they are strictly following the RPO provisions in scrutiny of the applications for registration.