Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud has clarified that the Election Commission (EC) has no scope to strip Satkhira-4 MP Gazi Nazrul Islam of his parliamentary seat despite his expulsion from Jamaat-e-Islami.
At his office in Agargaon's Election Building on Thursday, he explained that party expulsion does not automatically unseat a lawmaker, though voluntary resignation from a political party renders a parliamentary seat vacant.
According to Masud, any decision based solely on a party's expulsion letter as a "controversial issue".
He said if Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad or parliament referred the matter to the commission, it would review the Constitution and laws before taking any decision.
Nazrul won the Satkhira-4 seat in the February election.
A video showing him in a private moment with a woman went viral on Facebook on Monday night.
Jamaat leaders initially claimed the video was AI-generated, before Nazrul himself, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, claimed the woman was his second wife.
At an emergency meeting of Jamaat's Central Executive Council at the official residence of Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman on Minto Road on Wednesday, the party decided to expel the Majlis-e-Shura member.
Jamaat said an internal investigation found evidence of "moral misconduct”, leading to Nazrul's expulsion under Article 62 of the party constitution, and decided to inform the EC of the matter immediately.
Asked about the move, Masud repeated that the commission could only consider the matter after receiving a formal reference from the speaker, followed by legal review and hearings if required.
He also pointed to Article 66 of the Constitution, which allows the speaker to refer questions over an MP's qualification to the EC.
Jamaat to Notify Speaker, EC
Jamaat is set to write to Speaker Hafiz and the EC on Thursday, informing them of its decision to expel Nazrul.
Assistant Secretary General Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said the letters were being prepared and would be sent to both the speaker's office and the EC later in the day.