Key points
- Verdict big boost for party decimated under Awami League government
- Electioneering body to decide whether the party can contest polls using scale symbol
- Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country of 170 million people
ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh on Sunday restored the registration of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, allowing it to take part in elections, more than a decade after it was removed under the now-overthrown government.
The Supreme Court overturned a cancellation of Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration, allowing it to be formally listed as a political party with the Election Commission.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, in its verdict, said the Election Commission will decide whether Jamaat can contest elections using the Scale symbol, The Business Standard reported.
The verdict, which is a big boost for Jamaat, comes a week after the acquittal and release of its senior leader, ATM Azharul Islam, who was previously sentenced to death.
আলহামদুলিল্লাহ!
বাংলাদেশ জামায়াতে ইসলামীর নিবন্ধন সংক্রান্ত হাইকোর্টের দেওয়া ন্যায়ভ্রষ্ট রায় আজ প্রধান বিচারপতির নেতৃত্বে চার সদস্যের বেঞ্চ বাতিল ঘোষণা করেছে।মহান রবের দরবারে নতশিরে শুকরিয়া আদায় করি—আলহামদুলিল্লাহ, সুম্মা আলহামদুলিল্লাহ।
পরবর্তী প্রক্রিয়া নির্বাচন…
— Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (@BJI_Official) June 1, 2025
“The Election Commission is directed to deal with the registration of that party in accordance with law,” commission lawyer Towhidul Islam told AFP.
Jamaat-e-Islami party lawyer, Shishir Monir, said the Supreme Court’s decision would allow a “democratic, inclusive and multi-party system” in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people.
“We hope that Bangladeshis, regardless of their ethnicity or religious identity, will vote for Jamaat, and that the parliament will be vibrant with constructive debates,” Monir told journalists.
Jamaat Ameer’s press conference following the verdict on ATM Azharul Islam
“During Sheikh Hasina’s despotic regime, Jamaat-e-Islami was subjected to horrific oppression” — Dr. Shafiqur Rahman
On May 27 at 11:30 AM, a press conference was held at the Freedom Fighters Hall of the… pic.twitter.com/bMo0dEA04G
— Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (@BJI_Official) May 28, 2025
After Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister in August, the party appealed for a review of the 2013 high court order banning it.
In May, Bangladesh’s interim government banned the Awami League, pending the outcome of a trial over its crackdown on mass protests that prompted her ouster last year.
