Five months after the 13th parliamentary election, the Election Commission (EC) has yet to publish the election expenditure statements submitted by political parties on its website, despite a legal obligation to do so.

The 13th parliamentary election was held on February 12, and the gazette notifying the elected lawmakers was published the following day.

Of the country’s 56 registered political parties, 50 contested the election.

Under the law, parties were required to submit their election expenditure statements within 90 days of the gazette publication, making May 13 the deadline.

Twenty-seven parties met the deadline, while 23 -- including the BNP and the National Citizen Party (NCP) -- failed to do so.

The EC later extended the deadline to June 13. Even then, seven parties did not submit their expenditure statements.

On June 25, the commission issued show-cause notices to the seven parties -- the National Citizen Party, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, Amar Bangladesh Party, Amjanatar Dal, Bangladesh Kalyan Party, Bangladesh Muslim League, and the National Democratic Movement.

Section 44(Gha)(3) of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) requires the EC to publish on its website the election expenditure statements submitted by political parties.

Asked why the reports had yet to be uploaded, EC Secretary Abdur Rahmanel Masud told The Daily Star, “We will publish the accounts on our website very soon. We have already issued show-cause notices to seven parties, warning them of a Tk 10,000 fine and possible cancellation of registration. The matter will be reviewed as early as possible.”

Earlier, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told The Daily Star that the commission would review the matter and take action against the defaulting parties in accordance with the law.