BNP, allies wait for govt talks as time ticks away

BNP will apply for registration with the Election Commission (EC) by tomorrow, the closing date for applications. Its Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan said this to The Daily Star after a meeting with Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office late at night. Though the extended time limit for submitting applications expires tomorrow, BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami have yet to collect forms. Earlier in the day, senior leaders of the parties said they are prepared for registration and waiting for a positive response from the government to the seven-point demand they placed at the dialogue on October 14. "We will have to apply for registration within October 20," Nazrul Islam Khan told The Daily Star minutes before midnight. “I have just discussed with the chairperson everything about registration. We are ready and waiting to hear from the government about our demands," he added. Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ), another component of the BNP-led rainbow coalition, collected their application form last week and was working to tailor the party constitution to meet the requirements for registration, sources in the IOJ said. The IOJ however will not submit its application to the EC until the four-party coalition decides to register, the sources added. Senior officials at the EC secretariat said the commission might again face difficulties if the BNP and its allies do not apply for registration by tomorrow, which is mandatory for the political parties to contest the parliamentary polls. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda however hoped that the BNP and the Jamaat will file their applications by tomorrow, noting that the commission had earlier extended the time limit only for them. The deadline was extended by five days to October 20 on request of the two parties who then said they would register after holding talks with the caretaker government. They sat in separate talks with Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed on October 14 and later said they will meet with the government again before the deadline for registration expires on October 20. "We hope the government will hold the second round of talks with us before October 20," BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday told reporters. "We hope our proposals as to registration will be accepted so the BNP can register," Delwar said. Asked whether the BNP will apply for registration if the government does not hold talks with them before October 20, he said they will decide on it. Sources in the BNP said some senior party leaders yesterday discussed the registration issue and were supposed to consult their party Chairperson Khaleda Zia last night. The BNP constitution empowers the chairperson to bring amendments to it in an emergency. Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Mohammad Kamaruzzaman told The Daily Star that they have almost completed the preparatory tasks for registration. "We'll sit today to discuss the registration and dialogue issues," he said. IOJ Secretary General Abdul Latif Nezami said they were making preparations for registration. "We'll submit applications after the four-party alliance reaches a decision," he told The Daily Star. Twenty-nine political parties applied to the EC for registration as of Thursday. The commission has so far given out 180 application forms. The EC will have to complete the registration work by October as it plans to announce the schedule for the December 18 parliamentary polls on November 1 or 2.