Jamaat charter still anti-constitutional Finds EC committee; BNP's associated organisations not RPO proper; AL's charter not accepted yet Some provisions in the revised constitution of Jamaat-e-Islami still run counter to those in the republic's, finds the committee assigned by the Election Commission (EC) to examine the applications for registration. One section ignores the fundamental feature of the country's constitution in that it does not accept the plenary powers of parliament to make laws. Another calls for concerted efforts to establish 'just rule of Islam', said sources at the EC Secretariat. Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Jamaat's Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid however claimed that in no way does his party's constitution contradict the country's. According to the criteria laid down in the revised Representation of the People Order (RPO), a political party shall not be qualified for registration if the objectives in its constitution are at variance with those in the constitution of the people's republic of Bangladesh. Meanwhile, a section of the BNP's revised charter has been found to have ignored the RPO condition that says a party seeking registration must disallow associate organisations made up of students, workers and other professionals, said sources close to the EC committee. According to the amended RPO, the BNP's interim constitution was supposed to have a provision disavowing affiliated or associate organisations. BNP's revised constitution says students and workers with allegiance to BNP can form organisations, and theirs will be considered associated bodies of the party. BNP and Jamaat, partners in the four-party coalition, applied for registration Monday. In the last two days, the experts' committee examined the revised constitutions and other documents attached to their applications. They have decided to ask the parties to correct their charters so those conform to the registration requirements, the sources added. As of yesterday, the committee did not accept Awami League's (AL) provisional constitution since it still provides for associate organisations consisting of students and workers. AL submitted its application on October 15. In its reworked statute it kept the provision for those two auxiliary bodies. The experts' committee already had a meeting with an AL delegation Thursday and asked the party to correct the provision. As AL has yet to respond, the EC is planning to issue a letter directing it to get rid of the contradictory provision, sources in the EC said. Meanwhile, HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party (JP) that also applied for registration on October 15 has corrected a provision following the EC committee's objection to that. In response, the EC has directed its officials to provide the party with registration certificate, said sources at the EC Secretariat. As per the provision in question, the JP parliamentary board was allowed to pick parliamentary candidates all by itself, whereas the RPO says that for registration with the EC an organisation must have a provision for its contestants to be chosen from panels selected by the grassroots. The expert's committee will ask the district- and upazila-level election officials to check the authenticity of the information provided by the parties on their office and committees at the grassroots level. Besides, the EC has already sought from the home ministry a list of banned outfits. JAMAAT CHARTER VS CONSTITUTION For amendments to the RPO, Jamaat was forced to bring some major changes in its constitution to get registered with the EC. But its revised constitution still has a number of provisions that clash with those in the country's constitution, the supreme law of the land. The EC committee found that section 5(3) of Jamaat's charter is in conflict with the country's constitution, EC sources said. The section urges organised efforts to end all types of repression, exploitation, corruption and injustice by establishing 'just rule of Islam and of honest people'. On the other hand, the preamble to the country's constitution reads: "…. it shall be a fundamental aim of the state to realise through the democratic process a socialist society, free from exploitation--a society in which the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedom, equality and justice, political, economic and social, will be secured for all citizens." The experts' committee also found that section 2 (5) of Jamaat's charter threatens to undermine the plenary lawmaking powers bestowed on parliament by the country's constitution. It says people must not accept anyone except Allah as law-making authority. The committee also opined that sections 6 (4) and 3 (1) of Jamaat's charter seek to chip away at the supreme authority of the country's constitution. The sections encourage efforts to ensure complete Islamisation through change of government by conventional means and safeguard the country's independence and sovereignty through revival of Islamic values and national unity. Queried, Mojahid said interpreting the sections as against the constitution is akin to depriving one of his right to freedom of religion. Jamaat charter still anti-constitutional The Daily Star, Bangladesh - Some provisions in the revised constitution of Jamaat-e-Islami still run counter to those in the republic's, finds the committee assigned by the Election ... Related: Renamed Jamaat-E-Islami Bangladesh News Agency of Kashmir, India - Ferdous Ahmad Bhuiyan/Dhaka, Oct 20 (NAK): Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh's new name is 'Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami according to its new amended constitution ... Supreme power of BNP chairperson curtailed The Daily Star, Bangladesh - Absolute authority of the BNP chairperson to form the party's standing and executive committees has been clipped in its revised constitution submitted ...
BNP registers for polls Pakistan Dawn, Pakistan - DHAKA, Oct 20: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its staunch ally, Jamaat-i-Islami, submitted applications on Monday to the Election Commission on ... |
__._,_.___
*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
*****************************************
MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
*****************************************
Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm
****************************************************
VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
****************************************************
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___