The cabinet
on Monday approved a proposal for promulgating an ordinance amending the
updated Representation of the People Order to give political parties six more
months to submit their ratified constitutions to the Election Commission.
The weekly
cabinet meeting, held at the Cabinet Division with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
in the chair, gave the approval following an appeal by the Election Commission
as many political parties missed the July 24 deadline.
Meeting sources
said that the commission sought one year extension of the deadline.
According to
the new RPO, as amended by the parliament recently, the date for submitting the
ratified party constitutions expired on July 24.
The six-month
extension would be counted from July 25.
The amended
RPO requires political parties to submit their constitutions ratified in
council sessions within six months form the date of the first sitting of the
ninth parliament. The first session of the parliament began on January 25.
Ten political
parties, including the main opposition BNP, out of 39 registered parties
applied to the EC seeking extension of the deadline. The ruling Awami League
and its ally Jatiya Party earlier submitted their constitutions to the EC by
the deadline, after holding their councils on July 24.