Dhaka, June 2 (UNI) The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI), following its re-registration as a political party after a court ruling, has expressed hope that the Election Commission will restore its official political logo, the Scale, said the party’s Assistant Secretary General and former lawmaker AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad.
On Sunday, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, overturned a High Court judgement from 2013 that had declared Jamaat-e-Islami's registration as a political party illegal.
On Monday, senior BJI members went to meet the Election Commission.
"The court has already delivered a verdict, and the Election Commission is also positive," Hamidur told reporters, after his meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the EC headquarters in Dhaka today, the Daily Star reported.
"The order has directed a return to the previous state. I contested in the 2008 ninth parliamentary election with the scales symbol and was elected as a Member of Parliament,” said the BJI leader.
"The High Court's order that invalidated our registration and symbol has now been cancelled by the Supreme Court. So, there's no reason for the Election Commission to deny us the symbol or the registration now. The commission has not said otherwise, nor can they, as it would be against the court order," he added.
The Supreme Court verdict had also instructed the Election Commission to restore the Jamaat’s political licence and its electoral symbol.
Asked whether the party's symbol was discussed, the Jamaat leader said "The court order stated that things should be restored to their previous state. I was elected in 2008 with the 'scales' symbol.
“Since the ‘unjust’ High Court order has been struck down, and that order included the removal of our symbol, the Election Commission now has no grounds to deny its restoration. They haven't indicated that they would, nor can they defy a court directive."
In response to a question on the 'scales' not appearing in the EC's current list of 19 electoral symbols, Azad argued, "Before the 2013 High Court order, the symbol was on the list and our party was registered. Reinstating the previous state means restoring both. The rest is procedural."
The hardline Islamic party was banned as a political outfit by the High Court in 2013 for its support to the Razakars of the Pakistan Army in the Bengali genocide of 1971, and its opposition to the independence of Bangladesh.
The ruling was later supported by the Supreme Court, which revoked the group’s political logo from being used as an electoral symbol in 2016. Additionally, the EC removed the 'scales' from its official list in 2018.
Its reinstatement remains a controversial issue, as the group, while enjoying strong support from Islamic clerics, has been condemned by the public for its hardline stance, trying to promote religious conservatism and moving the country to a theocratic Islamic state.
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