The Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday reinstated registration of the anti-independence, Jamaat-e-Islami party.
Bangladesh gained independence in 1971 through a bloody nine-month war against Pakistan. India helped Bangladesh to achieve independence. Jamaat-e-Islami sided with Pakistan and supported the occupying army.
Bangladesh EC registered as a political party on November 5, 2008, following an application from Jamaat-e-Islami. But in 2009, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh banned Jamaat-e-Islami through a writ petition filed in 2009. Based on that ruling, the EC cancelled the registration of Jamaat-e-Islami in October 2018.
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in a student-led uprising in August last year. Hasina fled to India, and an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed.
Jamaat leaders were tried for war crimes. However, the scenario changed after the fall of Sheikh Hasina, when Jamaat-e-Islami filed a petition in the court to lift the ban.
The Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court recently lifted the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami. Based on the verdict, the EC reinstated the party’s registration, allowing the party to participate in the next election.
Earlier this month, Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser to the interim government, indicated that national elections will be held in Bangladesh in the first half of February 2026.
“The Chief Adviser said that he has announced that the elections will be held by the first half of February next year. If all preparations are completed, the elections could be held even in the week before the start of Ramadan in 2026,” said a joint statement issued after the talks between Muhammad Yunus and Acting BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman in London.
“In that case, it will be necessary to achieve sufficient progress on reform and justice within that period,” it added.
“Today, BNP Acting Chairperson Mr. Tarique Rahman met with visiting Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus in London. Their meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere,” the statement said.
Tarique Rahman proposed to the Chief Adviser to hold the elections before Ramzan next year. Party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia also thinks it would be better if the elections were held at that time, the statement added.
