The High Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Bangladesh’s presidential election on August 20, rejecting a petition that sought to suspend the election schedule and challenged the constitutionality of Article 70, which restricts lawmakers from voting against their political parties.
A bench comprising Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury and Justice AFM Saiful Karim summarily rejected the writ petition, Attorney General Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajal said.
“There is therefore no obstacle to holding the presidential election on August 20,” Kajal said.
Advocate Yunus Ali Akond, who filed the petition on August 13, argued that Article 70 prevents MPs from voting independently and consequently infringes on their democratic and fundamental rights.
Akond said he would decide whether to appeal after receiving the High Court’s full judgment.
Article 70 stipulates that an MP elected as a political party’s nominee will lose their parliamentary seat if they resign from the party or vote in parliament against it. The provision, however, does not disqualify the lawmaker from contesting a subsequent parliamentary election.
The petition named the law secretary, the Parliament Secretariat secretary and other relevant officials as respondents.
Akond appeared for the petitioner, while Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal and Deputy Attorneys General Mamun Chowdhury and Akhtar Hossain Md Abdul Wahab represented the state.
The presidential vote is scheduled for 2 pm to 5 pm on August 20. The Election Commission has declared two candidates valid, while 349 lawmakers are eligible to vote. August 18 is the deadline for withdrawal of candidacy.
The election was called after President Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppu resigned last month, citing health reasons.
The BNP has nominated Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has fielded Liberal Democratic Party chairman Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmad.
With the BNP commanding a two-thirds majority in parliament, Fakhrul is widely expected to win the presidency.
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