Jatiya Party, led by MP Anwar Hossain Manju, on Monday told President M Abdul Hamid that his party wanted the next Election Commission to be formed under a law provided by the Constitution. So far, 18 of 29 political parties who were invited in phases joined the talks while five did not. According to Bangabhaban press wing, the other parties invited for the dialogue are - Islami Front Bangladesh and Bangladesh National Awami Party on January 11, and BNP and National People's Party (NPP) on January 12, Bangladesh Kallyan Party, Jaker Party and Jatiya Party on January 13 and Awami League on January 17. According to the EC website, the country has now 39 registered political parties and only nine of them have representation in the Parliament. The nine parties are Bangladesh Awami League, Jatiya Party, BNP, Bangladesh Workers Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Jasod, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, Ganoforum, Bangladesh Tarikat Federation and Jatiya Party.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 10, 2022 22:46 UTC