By NNN-PTI,
Dhaka : A Bangladesh High Court today cleared the way for the planned December 18 elections in the emergency-ruled country by dismissing writ petitions that challenged the Election Commission’s gazette on delimitation of parliamentary constituencies.
“The court discharged the writ petition challenging the legality of the EC’s gazette notification on delimitation of the parliamentary constituencies,” election lawyer Swadhin Malik told newspersons after a High Court bench comprising judges Mir Hasmat Ali and Shamim Hasnain issued the order.
A former junior minister in the past coalition government of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and four others under ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia challenged the EC decision to re-demarcate constituencies citing constitutional obligations.
The pending case forced the EC to postpone its plan to announce the election schedule today (November 2), as the writ petitions had exposed December 18 polls to uncertainty while the court verdict prompted the commission to convene an urgent meeting to fix a fresh date for announcing the poll schedule.
“The schedule will be announced any day this week,” Election commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told newspersons as the ruling meant that “the EC has no impediment in declaring the election schedule”.
Writ petitioner’s lawyer Barrister Rafiqul islam Mian, however, said he could file a appeal against the verdict “if my clients want so”.
On July 10 this year, the EC issued a gazette notification finalising a list of parliamentary seats with district-wise redrawn boundaries.