Charter change only way out

1 August 2013, 18:48 PM

UPDATED 2 August 2013, 01:08 AM

Shakhawat Liton and Prabir Barua Chowdhury

The cancellation of Jamaat's registration with the Election Commission (EC) will put the party in jeopardy, as it will not be able to contest the next general elections. This is unless it rewrites its constitution and register freshly or until the Appellate Division of the High Court overturns yesterday's verdict. Even the Jamaat leaders will not be able to take part in the polls with its ally BNP's ticket, since a person has to be the member of a political party for at least three years to be eligible for the parliamentary election. They however can contest the polls as independent candidates, but will not be allowed to use BNP's or any other party's electoral symbol, as the electoral laws prohibit it. Meanwhile, the party can still carry out political activities since the registration with the EC is mandatory only for participating in elections. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said none could take part in the election under the banner of Jamaat-e-Islami after the High Court verdict had declared the party's registration with the EC illegal. Asked about the future of the two lawmakers elected on Jamaat tickets in the last parliamentary election, he said they would decide on it after going through the verdict. EC officials said if the HC order was upheld by the Appellate Division, the EC would complete the procedure for cancelling Jamaat's registration. Abdur Razzak, chief counsel for Jamaat, however, observed that it could not be yet said that Jamaat would not be able to contest the next polls since they were going to appeal against the HC verdict. The party has so far contested on its own three polls, in 1986, 1991 and 1996. In 1986, it won 10 seats while in 1991, 18 seats and in 1996, three. Since then Jamaat contested elections as an alliance partner of BNP. It bagged 17 seats in 2001 polls and only two in 2008. This is being considered as the strongest blow for Jamaat since the party's revival after the August 15, 1975, bloody changeover, although since 2010, top leaders of the party have been brought under trial for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. By now, six of them, including its expelled leader Abul Kalam Azad also known as Bachchu Razakar, have been convicted, four getting the death penalty. Interestingly, BNP has been keeping a distance with Jamaat leaving the party alone to protest against the war crimes trials.