SCBA defers polls following 'agreement' with govt

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After an intense behind-the-screen high drama marked by the eleventh hour negotiations between the Law Adviser and the bar leaders at an undisclosed place in Gulshan, election to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) scheduled for Monday was deferred to April 28-29, reports UNB.
The SCBA had earlier decided to hold the overdue election Monday, defying the government ban on the election, as the SCBA did not seek permission from the authorities concerned.
Witnesses said hundreds of lawyers in black gowns thronged the polling centres to elect their new leaders since 10 am but the bar leaders twice deferred the time of casting of votes as the negotiations with the government continued.
As the stalemate over the election continued, agitating general members of the SCBA held an impromptu meeting at the bar hall room saying that if the election could not be held Monday, the incumbent executive committee the tenure of which expired last year should be dissolved and an ad-hoc committee be formed to run the association until a new elected committee assumes office.
Meanwhile, the bar leaders, incumbent SCBA president Amir-ul-Islam, secretary AM Aminuddin, five candidates vying for the post of president, including Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, Barrister Shafique Ahmed, Humayun Hossain Khan and convenor of the election sub-committee Nizamul Huq Nasim left the court premise at about 9:15am for talks with Law Adviser AF Hassan Ariff at an undisclosed house in Gulshan. They returned to the court at about 2pm.
Amidst a noisy scene, Nizamul Huq Nasim, convenor of the election sub-committee, announced at 2:05pm, "We've reached a consensus to defer the polling date to April 28-29 following 'fruitful' discussions with the government ending in an agreement in this regard. The Law Adviser and the Attorney General are among the signatories to the agreement.