CEC underscores party registration (BANGLADESH)

Political parties have no alternative to registration ahead of the national polls, chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda said Saturday. "Registration is a must for participation in the elections," Huda told reporters after talks with Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP and Islami Oikyo Jote on Saturday. The talks with the four-party alliance were successful, the CEC said. Replying to query, Huda said: "As the dialogue sessions with the political parties have ended, we will now regard their proposals." "We are thinking of making some changes in the light of the proposals, though time is short. The commission will take a final decision on the matter in a meeting on Sunday," he said. On the amended RPO, opposed by many parties in the last-round dialogue, he said: "The Representation of People Order (amendment) Ordinance has become law after promulgation." "However, it will take time to fully implement the new law," he added. The CEC and election commissioners Muhammad Sohul Hussain and M Sakhawat Hussain were scheduled to meet the chief adviser after the talks to brief him on the outcome of the dialogue sessions. "We will declare the dates for elections for Jatiya Sangsad, upazila and Dhaka City Corporation on Monday," the CEC reiterated before he left for the meeting.