Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Secretary General and former lawmaker Professor Mia Golam Porwar has issued the following statement on 28 August 2020 protesting the recent proposal of the election commission of enacting two separate laws namely Representation of the People's Order 2020 and Political parties' registration with election commission act, 2020.

In the 69th meeting of the commission on 24 August, the Election Commission cleared the draft of the Political Party Registration Bill, 2020 by enacting a separate law with some articles from the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972. The draft proposal also excluded 11 basic and structural rules from the act. According to subsections 1 and 2 of Section 91E of the RPO, 1972, the EC has the direct power to investigate and reject the candidature of any candidate if any allegation is made against him/her. But the draft proposal also excluded that provision. This provision is very significant and it had been added based on the political consensus. Why it is being cancelled now is not clear. This proposal will the curb the power of the commission itself. Besides, Election commission proposed to reform the local election management act and also to alter the name of different local posts and offices. Election commission has no authority to make such recommendations.

Election commission also proposed to enact a separate law titled ‘Political parties' registration with election commission act, 2020.’ According to the latest draft, to obtain EC’s registration, a political party should have the record of winning at least a constituency in previous national election or to secure 5 percent votes or the party should have committee in 21 districts or 200 Upazilas. In the previous act, the party could be considered eligible if one of the aforesaid conditions is fulfilled. But now, as per the draft proposal, the interested party has to fulfil at least two conditions. As such, many political parties will lose their registration and the nation will move gradually towards a depoliticization process.

These proposals indicate that the present election commission is wholeheartedly trying to implement the agenda of a particular political party. In order to restrain the way of holding a free, fair and transparent election, they are mulling to destroy the democratic procedures. We are urging the commission to be refrained from passing such illogical proposals.

In a bid to establish democracy and also to hold a free and fair election, we are calling upon the concerned authorities to repeal the proposed Representation of the People's Order 2020 immediately.”