Awami League faces no bar to join polls unless banned by govt, court: CEC
There is no barrier for the Bangladesh Awami League (AL) to contest in the elections unless the government or the courts ban the party, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin commented on Monday.
The CEC made the remarks replying to queries from journalists while exchanging views at an event on “Voter list update and 13th parliamentary election” at Chattogram Circuit House.
Replying to a query on whether the AL could take part in the next elections, AMM Nasir Uddin said, “It will mainly be a political decision. It is heard some people have filed lawsuits at courts, seeking orders to bar Awami League from joining the elections. If the court pronounces its verdict, we will take actions accordingly. If that does not happen then it will be a matter of political decision.”
He further said, “Everyone has constitutional rights to join a party. There are separate rules to register a party. If any political party fulfils the criteria, we will register them. But you are talking about an old party that was registered a long time ago.”
“So, if the government does not ban any party we cannot revoke their registration. It is a political decision and a decision of the court. One of these two should happen and we will take steps accordingly” he added.
He declined to make any further comment on the issue.
The CEC said, “I have been speaking about it since the beginning that it is either a political decision or a decision of the court. We are looking at these two things.”
“Awami League is a registered political party as per the laws. It is their decision whether they will contest the elections or not. If they decide not to join the election we cannot force them to do so,” he added.
Nasir Uddin said, “If political parties or the court do not reach a decision, then we are undone. Awami League has been a registered party since 1972. We cannot leave them out.”
Replying to a query on the ongoing discussion on setting voter’s minimum age at 17, the CEC said, “For this, the constitution must be amended since it sets the age at 18. If a decision is taken to set voters’ minimum age at 17, we will work accordingly.”
Elaborating his point, the CEC further said, “We follow the constitution and no one else. If the constitution is changed to make voters with a minimum age of 17, then the Representation of the People Order (RPO) and the Voter List Act will also have to be changed,” he added.
Responding to another query, AMM Nasir Uddin said, “We are not thinking about taking actions against anyone from the previous election commissions. We do not have any such decision either. We will decide after the recommendations of the reform commission.”
“You have seen the three previous elections, as well as the elections in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2008. You know and we also understand how the previous three elections happened, but such a situation no longer exists,” he added.
Stating that the election commission is fully independent, the CEC said, “We have no pressure other than the pressure from our conscience. We just have the pressure to work staying within the constitution, rules and regulations. There is no external pressure on us that was on the previous three election commissions. That is why those three elections were held in such manners. It is possible to hold elections in a better way in this country. We did that in the past.”
Responding to another query on voter list, Nasir Uddin said people have lost faith in the electoral process and they want to bring that back. “We will go from door to door. Our target is to complete the task visiting every home within six months.
Regarding the proportional electoral system, the CEC said, “This matter has not been included in our constitution as yet. Let’s see what recommendations the constitution reform commission makes. If their recommendations are accepted, and likewise the government takes steps to amend the constitution, we will conduct the election accordingly. Otherwise, we must follow the existing systems as stated in the constitution.”