Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud on Thursday said the Election Commission (EC) has no scope to take direct action solely on the basis of a letter from Jamaat-e-Islami regarding the parliamentary membership of its expelled lawmaker, Gazi Nazrul Islam.

"I don't think there is any scope to take direct action on the basis of a letter alone," he told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka.

He said the question of whether an MP automatically loses his or her parliamentary seat after being expelled from a political party remains a contentious constitutional issue.

Jamaat-e-Islami on Wednesday expelled Satkhira-4 MP Gazi Nazrul Islam over what it described as "moral lapses" after a video showing him in an intimate situation with a young woman went viral on social media.

Masud said that if the EC receives a formal letter from Jamaat on the matter, it will examine its contents before deciding whether any further steps are warranted.

He explained that if an MP resigns from Parliament, the matter does not come before the Election Commission.

If Parliament refers a dispute over an MP's qualifications to the EC under Article 66 of the Constitution, the Commission may investigate the matter, record witness testimony and take a decision in accordance with the law, he said.

He added that if an MP resigns from the political party under whose nomination he or she was elected, the matter would fall within the Commission's jurisdiction.

On the issue of moral turpitude, Masud said the Election Commission cannot take cognisance of allegations on its own.

"Allegations of moral turpitude alone do not constitute a constitutional ground for disqualification," he said.

"If a person is convicted of a criminal offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced to at least two years' imprisonment, that may become a ground for disqualification. Otherwise, there is no scope for the Election Commission to take suo motu cognisance of the matter."

Under Article 70 of the Constitution, a person elected to Parliament as a candidate nominated by a political party must vacate the seat if he or she resigns from that party or votes against it in Parliament.

An MP may also lose parliamentary membership if disqualified under Article 66 of the Constitution, which sets out the qualifications and disqualifications for election to Parliament.

Article 66(2)(d) provides that a person is disqualified from being elected or remaining a member of Parliament if, upon conviction for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, he or she is sentenced to imprisonment for at least two years, unless five years have elapsed since release from prison.