Jatiya Party among 7 excluded as EC concludes dialogue

The Election Commission (EC) has held dialogues with political parties ahead of the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election. While leaders from almost all registered parties—including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party (NCP)—joined the talks, the Jatiya Party (JaPa) and six other parties remained conspicuously excluded.

The EC concluded its dialogue with political parties on Wednesday (November 20). Neither the Jatiya Party nor the allies of the Awami League–led 14-party coalition were invited.

According to EC sources, the Commission has registered 66 domestic election observation organizations ahead of the 13th national election. Preparations are now underway to hold discussions with these observer groups. As a result, there is little possibility of holding a fresh round of dialogue with the Jatiya Party.

The EC began its dialogue with political parties on 13 November. Until Wednesday, it invited 48 registered parties to participate. Although invited, the Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) did not attend. The EC completed discussions with the remaining 47 parties. The dialogue sessions were held in two phases—morning and afternoon—each day.

A total of 59 parties have received registration from the EC so far. Among them, the Awami League’s registration is currently suspended due to restrictions on its activities. The registrations of the Freedom Party, the United Citizens’ Movement, and the PDP have been cancelled. In effect, the EC now has 55 active registered parties. Based on this count, the EC has yet to make a decision regarding seven parties, including the Jatiya Party and six of the 14-party alliance partners.

These parties are: Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), Workers Party of Bangladesh, Samyabadi Dal, Jatiya Party (JP-Manju), Tarikat Federation, and Ganatantri Party. Despite being a 14-party ally, the National Awami Party (NAP) has already responded to the EC’s invitation and joined the talks. Additionally, former Cox’s Bazar-1 MP Major General (Retd) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim of the Bangladesh Kalyan Party—who participated in the last disputed election—also joined the dialogue.

Officials refrained from answering whether the Jatiya Party and the six 14-party allies would ultimately remain excluded from the process.

Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said, “The Commission has completed discussions with the parties it had decided to engage with. At this moment, the Commission does not feel the need to hold further dialogues with any additional parties.”