The High Court has suspended the effectiveness of the public notice issued by the Election Commission (EC) regarding the registration of new political parties. At the same time, the court has issued a ruling asking why this public notice should not be declared illegal.
On Tuesday (March 18), a High Court bench led by Justice Akram Hossain Chowdhury passed this order.
During the hearing, Advocate Abeda Gulrukh represented the petition.
Earlier on Monday (March 17), Hasnat Kaiyum, the Chief Coordinator of the State Reform Movement and a Supreme Court lawyer, filed a related writ petition with the concerned branch of the High Court.
The petition names the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), the Secretary of the Election Commission, and the Election System Reform Commission as respondents.
Regarding the matter, lawyer Hasnat Kaiyum said, "We have challenged several issues in the writ. One of the key points is that the EC's law states that a political party must have committees in at least 100 upazilas and 22 districts to be eligible for registration. However, in the three hill districts predominantly inhabited by indigenous people, there are only 20 upazilas in total. As a result, even if the indigenous population wishes, they cannot form a political party or even a regional party."
He further stated, "Under the current EC law, the indigenous population has been deprived of the opportunity to form political parties. This issue, along with several other concerns, has been raised in the petition. Additionally, the writ seeks the cancellation of the EC's public notice."
It is noteworthy that on March 10, the Election Commission issued a public notice regarding political party registration. The notice invited political parties to apply for registration by April 20.
