The High Court on Tuesday issued a four-week rule asking the government and the Election Commission to explain why the commission’s recent notice — requiring new political parties to maintain offices in at least 22 districts and 100 upazilas for registration — should not be declared unlawful.
The EC issued the public notice on March 10, instructing aspiring political parties to submit applications with the necessary documents by April 20 using the prescribed form.
The HC bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja issued the rule after hearing a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer AHM Hasnat Qauiyum, also the head of Rashtra Sanskar Andolan, challenging the EC’s notice.
Following the hearing, the court stayed the EC’s directive, allowing Rashtra Sanskar Andolan only to seek registration without meeting the office requirement, lawyer Abeda Gulrukh told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·.
Abeda argued that the EC’s requirement contradicts Article 152 of the Constitution, which defines political parties, and goes against the Election Reform Commission’s recommendation to revoke the provision in question, which was incorporated in the RPO during the military-back caretaker government in 2007 to facilitate Awami League government which ousted on August 5, 2024 through student-led mass uprising.
She further pointed out that the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) have only 20 upazilas across three districts, making it impossible for people in the region to comply with the requirement, thereby denying them the right to form political parties, including regional ones.
Deputy attorney general Golam Rahman Bhuiyan appeared for the state.
