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Download PDF The Election Commission (EC) has set 2020 as the deadline for political parties to have women in at least one-third of the party committee posts at all levels.
Many political parties during their September-November talks with the commission last year strongly objected to the EC proposal for making this provision effective from this year.
While reviewing the opinions of the political parties last week, the EC decided to relax the provision by inserting the 12-year timeframe for empowering women politically.
The EC, however, rejected a few parties’ objections and decided to retain its proposal for banning political parties from having front organisations comprising students, teachers and workers. The commission also held on to its proposal to impose a ban on political parties to have overseas units, commission sources said.
According to the EC proposal, a political party intending to be registered with it will have to declare in their constitution that they will not have front organisations of students, teachers and workers, and overseas units.
Most political parties that participated in the first round electoral reforms talks with the EC opposed the commission’s proposals on women’s representation and banning front organisations and overseas units.
The commission has been long criticising the “negative” activities of the front organisations and overseas units of the political parties, sources said.
Most political parties agreed on the EC proposal for reserving women’s representation in the party committees but suggested its gradual implementation.
“It is not possible to implement the proposal right now. It would be implemented in phases,” Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda told reporters on Thursday.
In the second round of the
electoral reforms talks scheduled to begin on February 24, the EC will discuss the proposals with the parties again.
It will also inform the parties of its decisions on different issues before sitting with them.
EC sources, however, said the commission may not change its stance on the proposals even if the parties do not agree on them as the CEC had said the EC would do “whatever is good for the nation”.
Once the proposals are made into laws, the Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party and other political parties will have to amend their constitutions to de-link front organisations comprising teachers, students and workers to get registered with the EC.
“No registered political party shall form any front organisation with the students of any educational institution. No registered political party shall form any front organisation with the employees of government and non-government financial institutions, or commercial or industrial establishments, and a registered political party shall not engage in activities of any labour organisation,” says the EC proposal.
Reviewing the political parties’ opinions, the EC also decided to relax a few other conditions for registration.
The EC now says a political party that has not won at least one parliamentary seat in elections since 1973 will have to have offices and committees in at least 21 districts as well as the upazilas under those.
In its original proposal disclosed on April 5 last year, the EC had said a political party, which cannot meet the condition of having representation in parliament, will have to have offices and committees in at least 32 districts and their upazilas.
According to the EC roadmap announced on July 15, the electoral reforms proposals will have to be made into laws by March this year and political parties will have to get registered with the commission by June.
The EC has already asked the caretaker government to lift the restrictions on indoor politics countrywide, allowing resumption of political activities so that the parties can prepare themselves to get registered.
Apart from amending the constitutions through holding national councils, most political parties will have to elect new central committees to get registration as the tenures of those have expired.
The EC wants to make political parties’ registration with it mandatory with provisions designed to ensure financial transparency and democracy within the parties.
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