HC blocks four nominees from competing in election

Four BNP-nominated Upazila chairmen who sought to compete in the parliamentary election have been blocked from entering the race by a series of court orders.

Dhaka-20 candidate Tamiz Uddin, Bogura-3 candidate Abdul Mohit Talukder, Bogura-7 candidate Sarkar Badal and Dhaka-1 candidate Khandakar Abu Ashfaq will not be participating in the Dec 30 election, lawyers say.

The High Court (HC) stayed the nomination of Tamiz Uddin even after the Election Commission declared him valid.

The HC order was then suspended by a chamber court following a plea by Tamiz, reports bdnews24.com.

On Monday, an Appeals bench led by the chief justice lifted the chamber court’s block on the HC order, which means Tamiz cannot contest in the election.

As for Bogura’s Mohit Talukder and Sarkar Badal, they became election hopefuls after the High Court placed a stay order on the Election Commission’s decision to cancel their nomination.

A chamber court had suspended the High Court ruling and the Appellate bench on Monday continued the suspension.

Tamiz Uddin and Mohit Talukder resigned as Upazila Parishad chairmen before submitting their nomination papers for the parliamentary election.

But their pleas were rejected and their nominations cancelled. As for Sarkar Badal, his nomination plea was rejected because he sought to become a candidate without resigning from his previous position.

Nababganj Upazila Parishad Chairman Khandakar Abu Ashfaq, a candidate of the BNP and Jatiya Oikya Front for Dhaka-1, had submitted his nomination plea to the Election Commission. But the High Court issued a rule to stay his nomination on Monday.

The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Khairul Alam heard a petition filed against Ashfaq by Bikalpa Dhara candidate Jalal Uddin, competing in the polls for Dhaka-1.

“Ashfaq had submitted his nomination plea before his resignation as Upazila chairman was accepted,” said lawyer Amin Uddin, representing the petitioner.

“The Election Commission had accepted his candidacy. But the HC has stayed that decision.”