The Election Commission (EC) has officially reinstated the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party, along with its electoral symbol, the 'Scales' (Daripalla), following a verdict from the country’s highest court.
The move was announced through a gazette notification issued on Tuesday, signed by EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.
According to the gazette, Jamaat was originally registered under the Representation of the People Order, 1972, by EC notification No. NIKOSH/PR-3/RAD/5(44)/2008/1141 dated 5 November 2008 (Registration No. 014).
However, in response to a judgment in Writ Petition No. 630 of 2009, the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court had earlier directed the cancellation of the party’s registration. The Election Commission followed suit, issuing a cancellation gazette on 28 October 2018.
The recent Appellate Division verdict, in Civil Appeal No. 139 of 2013 along with Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal No. 3112 of 2013, overturned the High Court’s earlier decision. As a result, the EC has now repealed the 2018 cancellation and reinstated Jamaat’s registration as a political party, including the right to use its electoral symbol, the ‘Scales’.
This legal development effectively restores Jamaat-e-Islami’s eligibility to contest in future national and local elections under its previously assigned symbol.