EC waits for decision of Speaker on Latif Siddique

The Election Commission (EC) is waiting for the Speaker's decision before it moves on Abdul Latif Siddique, reports bdnews24.com.

The EC officials say they would not move even if the Awami League (AL) informs it about his expulsion from the party.

Mr Siddique's anti-Hajj rant in New York last month provoked a furore across Bangladesh.

After being dropped from the Cabinet and then from the party's Presidium, Siddique claimed in Kolkata he was still an MP unless the EC gave its verdict.

Two contrasting opinions are doing the rounds on the issue.

Some say despite expulsion from the party, he will remain an MP - a position contested by Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam who thinks otherwise.

Syed Ashraf says the EC has been informed about Siddique's expulsion from the party on the day the AL decided on it.

But Election Commissioner Md Shahnawaz told bdnews24.com that until Sunday evening no such intimation had been received from the Awami League.

The EC will have to take a final decision on the issue within 14 days of receiving the Speaker's opinion.

The EC will also have to hear out Siddique and one other party MP.