Why has King’s party NCP failed to meet prerequisites to get registered?

The National Citizen Party (NCP), which is the brainchild of Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, is among the 144 new political parties that failed to meet some basic requirements for acquiring registration from the Election Commission (EC).

Blessed by the self-proclaimed chief adviser, the NCP aims at winning 60-70% of the constituencies in the next parliamentary elections, but its application shows that it does not have a minimum of 200 voters in 25 upazilas.

In some cases, the same voter was included multiple times, and the NID numbers of about 20 members in Dimla Upazila were found to be fake.

The NCP also did not mention the party funds, let alone attach the statement of the source of funds.

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The list of all the effective district offices of the party with their addresses was not provided; the name of the party is not mentioned in the rental agreements of the Dhaka and Sylhet district offices and Kishoreganj’s Itna Upazila office.

Moreover, the name of the party and the address of the office were not mentioned in the deed of the Haluaghat Upazila office in Mymensingh.

The last page of the copy of the decision of the party’s executive committee regarding registration was not signed, the EC said.

As per Article 907(1)(b)(iv) of the Representation of the People Order (RPO), 1972, the NCP’s constitution did not contain the rule of nominating candidates for parliamentary elections by a panel with the party’s units at all levels.

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It did not add the document testifying that no person in the party had been convicted under the Bangladesh Collaborator (Special Tribunals) Order, 1972, and the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1972.

The party constitution was also not consistent with the provisions of Articles 90B(1)(b), 90(1), 90A, 102, 10C, and 902 of the RPO and Rules 4, 5, and 6 of the Political Party Registration Rules, 2008.

Always fumbling

The NCP is the first success of Yunus since 1993, when he tried to form the Amar Party as he became a popular face among the NGO-walas and civil society leaders, having a number of foreign degrees and awards.

In 2007, he failed to float the Nagorik Shakti with The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam as its General Secretary despite having the blessings of the US and the army-backed caretaker government.

On February 28, the convening committee of the NCP was announced through a government-patronised ceremony. The NCP’s party constitution does not conform to the Representation of the People Order of 1972 and the Political Party Registration Rules of 2008, among the nine points highlighted by the EC for revision.

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The EC has given the parties 15 days to submit their revised applications due to missing or incomplete information.

The NCP got the EC’s letter on July 17, at a time when the party was pressing the interim government to reconstitute the commission, which it termed pro-BNP, and for “lotus” as its party symbol.

The EC, however, refused to cater to the NCP’s demand, saying that the Constitution defines the national emblem and the national flag. Although there is no specific rule about the national flower or bird, the lotus is clearly included in the constitution as a national symbol.

Formed with the Dhaka University-based pro-Islamist leaders of last year’s Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM), Nahid Islam is the convener of the NCP. He was previously the member secretary of Ganatantrik Chhatra Shakti, formed in 2023, and a leader of the Chhatra Odhikar Parishad.

There were 49 registered parties when the new EC started working in November last year. The number has gone up to 55 as of now. The new parties are Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party, Gono Odhikar Parishad (GOP), Nagorik Oikyo, Ganosamhati Andolan, Bangladesh Development Party (BDP) and Bangladesh Minority Janata Party (BMJP).

On May 12, the EC suspended the party registration of the Awami League after its political activities were suspended by the government in an executive order.

The EC started receiving applications on March 10, with a deadline on April 20. Later, the NCP sought three months, while 45 other parties also asked for extra time. The EC set June 22 as the new deadline.

Now the EC is sending letters to the 144 parties in phases, seeking revised applications for further scrutiny.

According to Yunus’ latest statement, the elections may take place in early February, subject to progress in reforms and the trial of the Awami League leadership.

However, most of the political parties, including the BNP, do not believe that the interim government wants to hold the elections anytime soon.