Out of 38 registered political parties 17 including, BNP, were unable to hand in their audited financial statements for the last calendar year to the Election Commission by Sunday, the deadline.
According to an EC handout, 21 registered political parties, including ruling Awami League and opposition Jamaat-e-Islami gave their audited financial statements.
BNP and 10 other political parties—Jatiya Party (Manju), Bangladesh Jatiya Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, Islami Oikya Jote,Ganatantri Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Bangladesh Muslim League and Islamic Front Bangladesh—sought more time for handing in their statements.
BNP and some of the parties sought two more months for handing in their statements.
The Election Commission said it was yet to take a decision whether it would extend the deadline.
In 2008, the EC introduced the requirement for the registered political parties to give their audited financial statements to ensure their financial transparency.
The parties were given seven months, beginning January, to comply with the provision.
However, neither the Election Commission nor the political parties disclosed to the media the contents of audited financial statements.
A two-member ruling Awami League team led by deputy office secretary Mrinal Kanti Das submitted party's audited financial statement to the Election Commission on Sunday.
A three-member opposition BNP team led by the party's assistant office secretary Abdul Latif Jony handed in a letter to the Election Commission seeking two more months for giving the report.
Asked why BNP sought more time for handing in its financial statement, Jony said, 'The Election Commission wrote to us at the beginning of July seeking the financial statement.'
'Obviously, we could not prepare the statement in such short time,' he said.
Asked by waiting reporters, Mrinal Kanti declined to disclose the contents of the financial statement of the ruling party.
He said the financial statement, Awami League submitted following the Representation of People Order, 'is now the property of the Election Commission.'
Mrinal said the commission would now decide whether it would make the report public.
The Election Commission secretary Muhammad Sadique told reporters that the EC would take a decision whether or not to extend the deadline requested by political parties.
Asked whether the commission had any mechanism to crosscheck the audited financial statements, he said the veracity of the reports would be looked into, though the commission did not have enough manpower for the task.
He said the commission would crosscheck the reports once it got the manpower.
The parties which have submitted the reports are AL, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jamaat, Liberal Democratic Party, Krishak Sramik Janata League, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh National Awami Party, Zaker Party, Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, National People's Party, Jamiaate Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh, Gana Forum, Progressive Democratic Party, Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islami Front, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Revolutionary Workers' Party of Bangladesh and Khelafat Majlish.
Seven political parties which neither submitted their financial statements nor sought time for doing it included, Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal, Workers' Party of Bangladesh, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu), Gana Front, Oikyabaddha Nagarik Andolan and Bangladesh Kalyan Party.
Section 9 (b) of the Political Party Registration Rules requires every registered political party to give financial statement for the immediate past calendar year audited by a registered chartered accounting firm to the EC by July 31.
The RPO stipulates cancellation of registration of political parties for failure to comply with the provision for three consecutive years.
On July 4, the EC wrote to the registered political parties to remind them about the deadline.
Source : New Age
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