Khelafat Majlish: EC should not register unIslamic parties

The Election Commission (EC) should exclude non-Islamic parties or those against the spirit of independence from the register for the upcoming elections, the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish (BKM) party has urged. The recommendation from the Islamic political party is part of 15 suggestions they presented to the EC during a dialogue on Tuesday. The EC has been holding dialogues with all political parties regarding their suggestions for the upcoming elections since July 31. A team of 13 representatives lead by Secretary General of BKM Maulana Mahfuzul Haque met with the EC and also demanded that all laws be made “with religious consideration.” After the meeting, Maulana Mahfuzul Haque said they also suggested the army be deployed a week before the elections to maintain law and order. “We have suggested that nomination papers should be submitted online, that CCTV camera surveillance systems be set up at all voting centres, and that all important ministries be monitored by the EC,” he said. EC’s acting secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said after the meeting that some of the recommendations made by BKM are not even under the EC’s jurisdiction. “We will review all their recommendations and send the most appropriate ones to the government,” EC’s acting secretary said. Since the dialogues began on July 31, the EC has spoken to eight political parties about their recommendations for the upcoming elections, which are expected to be held by early 2019.