Uncontested wins in JS polls challenged
Monday, 17 February 2014
The High Court (HC) has asked why Section 19 of the Representation of the People Order, which allows uncontested candidates in parliamentary elections to be declared winners, should not be declared illegal.
The bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar issued the rule on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.
The cabinet secretary, the law secretary, the chief election commissioner and the Election Commission secretary have been asked to answer the rule within 10 days.
The petitioner's lawyer MS Azim confirmed to news agency that the rule had been issued. Deputy Attorney General Al Amin Sarker represented the state in the hearing.
The writ petition said declaring uncontested candidates as MPs without any participation of the people would violate the Sections 7, 11, 27, 31, 65 (2), 121 and 122 (1) of the Constitution.
Jatiya Party Vice-Chairman Khandaker Abdus Salam had filed the writ in December last year. In the 10th national elections, Salam submitted nomination papers to contest the Gazipur 1 constituency, but his nomination was cancelled by the returning officer.
In the last elections, 153 candidates were declared elected to parliament without any vote as they did not have any contenders. The number is unprecedented in the country's history.