Dhaka, Dec 26 – A writ petition was filed on Tuesday with the High Court on Wednesday challenging the legality of the election commission’s decision that qualified 25 Jamaat-e-Islami candidates to run the general election slated to be held on December 30.Bangladesh Tariqat Federation and Amra Muktijoddhar Santan (AMS) jointly filed the writ petition seeking HC directive on the Election Commission to disqualify 25 Jamaat-e-Islami candidates so that they
cannot contest the 11th parliamentary elections.
The petition was filed on the ground as the High Court earlier declared Jamaat’s registration with the EC illegal.
It was filed as a supplementary writ petition challenging the EC’s decision that rejected an application for cancellation of the Jamaat leaders’ candidacy.
The EC on December 24 sent a letter to the writ petitioners saying that the commission has rejected their application filed for disqualifying the 25 Jamaat men from contesting the polls.
The High Court received the supplementary petition and said that the petition would be included in the Thursday’s hearing list.
Earlier on Sunday, the election commission declared that 25 Jamaat-e-Islami leaders can be there in the election race as the commission has no authority to revoke their candidatures since they are contesting the polls as BNP and independent candidates as it has no legal jurisdiction to annul their candidacies.
After a meeting of the commission, EC Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said they have examined the related law and “there is no scope for rejecting the Jamaat leaders’ candidacy at this moment”.
Helaluddin said returning officers accepted and finalised the Jamaat leaders’ nomination papers. But no objections were filed with the election tribunal against the returning officers’ decisions.
Besides, the ROs also allocated electoral symbol to the Jamaat leaders, he added.
Of the 25 candidates, 22 are contesting the election with Sheaf of Paddy while the rest are independent ones.
On December 18, the High Court asked the EC to dispose of the application filed for cancelling the candidacies of 25 Jamaat-e-Islami leaders by three working days.
The EC scrapped Jamaat’s registration following an HC verdict in 2013. – Staff Reporter
