Dhaka, June 4 (IANS) Bangladesh’s radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami is expected to have its party registration restored, including its traditional electoral symbol of scales (Daripalla), a member of the Election Commission (EC) confirmed on Wednesday.
The decision follows a recent verdict of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh ordering the reinstatement of Jamaat’s registration, overturning a previous High Court judgment that had declared the party’s registration illegal.
“Jamaat-e-Islami will soon get back its registration. We are taking necessary steps. The Election Commission has made a decision in this regard,” said Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Sanaullah while addressing reporters following a meeting at the Election Commission Secretariat in Agargaon.
The meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin and attended by other commissioners and senior officials.
According to a report in Bangladeshi media outlet UNB, Commissioner Sanaulla stated that Jamaat’s party symbol will be returned following a policy decision made by the EC.
Earlier on Sunday, the Supreme Court’s ruling paved the way for the Islamist party to regain its registration with the EC as a political party.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s legal battle to regain its political status traces back to August 2013 when the High Court declared its registration illegal in response to a writ petition. The Election Commission followed suit by formally cancelling the registration through a gazette notification in December 2018.
Although Jamaat appealed the High Court’s verdict, the Appellate Division dismissed the appeal in November 2023 due to the absence of the party’s lead counsel. As a result, the High Court verdict had remained in effect – until the recent verdict.
The party’s legal resurgence followed the ouster of the Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a violent mass uprising last year.
In the wake of the upheaval, Jamaat filed a fresh petition seeking to revive its appeal and regain its status as a registered political party. In October, the Appellate Division accepted Jamaat’s petition, setting the stage for Sunday’s ruling.
The interim government under Muhammad Yunus, which assumed power following the fall of the Awami League, had earlier lifted the ban on Jamaat and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, through a gazette notification.
These groups had been declared illegal political entities under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 by the previous administration.
These radical elements had played a key role in the student-led agitation that led to the toppling of Hasina’s democratically-elected government.
–IANS
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