The Election Commission (EC) has begun issuing letters to 82 more political parties, including the National Citizen Party (NCP), as part of the second phase of scrutiny in its ongoing registration process ahead of the next general election, Md Mahbub Alam Shah, deputy secretary of the Election Commission, confirmed the matter on Sunday.
The move follows the submission of applications by 144 new parties seeking official registration. However, none passed the initial screening, prompting the EC to first send letters to 62 parties in the initial phase, asking them to correct deficiencies in their submissions.
In the second phase, the constitutional body has now begun issuing letters to 82 additional parties, including the NCP, seeking supplementary documentation.
Mahbub said: “We have already issued letters to 62 parties in the first phase and the process has now begun for 82 more in the second phase. All parties have been given a 15-day deadline to respond.”
Earlier, on April 20, the Election Commission issued a public notice inviting applications from parties seeking registration.
Later, the deadline was extended to June 22 after applications were submitted by several parties, including the National Citizen Party.
By the end of the extended deadline, the EC had received 147 applications from 144 parties.
According to the relevant laws, a party seeking registration must have a central committee, committees in at least one-third of the districts and organizational presence in a minimum of 100 upazilas.
Each committee must also have the support of at least 200 voters.
Additionally, a party may qualify for registration if it has previously had a member of parliament or secured at least 5% of votes in past elections.
Alongside these core conditions, parties must also comply with various procedural requirements.
These conditions are generally considered during the preliminary screening process.
Following the receipt of applications, the EC conducts an initial review before verifying submitted information through field-level investigations.
Upon completion of the scrutiny, the Commission issues a public notice inviting objections or claims.
If any objections are raised, a hearing is held and the matter is resolved accordingly.
In the absence of objections, the Commission grants registration certificates to the qualifying parties.
Notably, without registration, a political party cannot contest elections using its own electoral symbol.
