No political party is meeting the requirement of reserving 33% of posts for women members, as set by the Representation of the People Order, 1972, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has said.
The division, headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, made the observation on Sunday at a hearing in a case filed over the registration of Nazmul Huda's Trinamool BNP as a political party.
The order says if any political party wants to be registered with the Election Commission, it has to reserve at least 33% of all committee positions for women, including in the central committee.
The Appellate Division said the Election Commission could not make the parties comply with the condition despite repeatedly issuing notices.
“Why does the Election Commission not want to register new political parties? What is the problem?” the court asked the commission.
In reply, Md Yasin, legal counsel for the commission, said: “Parties want to register with strange names, and they do not meet all the requirements either.”
The Appellate Division later ordered the Election Commission to register Trinamool BNP as a political party, upholding a High Court order.
