Case Filed Against Nahid Islam Over Poll Rigging

A case has been filed at the High Court against Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and chief whip of the opposition, alleging vote rigging in the 13th parliamentary election.

The election petition was submitted on Wednesday by BNP candidate MA Kaiyum from the Dhaka-11 constituency.

Court sources said the case may come up for hearing before the election tribunal bench of Justice Mohammad Zakir Hossain on Thursday.

The petition alleges that irregularities and manipulation occurred during the election, which affected the final results of the constituency.

Besides this case, several other candidates from BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have also filed petitions at the High Court challenging the election results in their respective constituencies.

Among them are Mia Golam Parwar from Khulna-5, Dr. Sultan Ahmed from Barguna-2 and Shamim Sayeedi from Pirojpur-2.

Sharifuzzaman Sharif from Chuadanga-1, Nadira Akter from Madaripur-1 and Shahrin Islam from Nilphamari-2 have also submitted separate election petitions.

Earlier, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Maulana Mamunul Haque and several BNP candidates had approached the High Court with similar allegations.

According to Section 49 of the Representation of the People Order (RPO), any candidate can challenge an election result by filing a petition if irregularities or rigging are suspected.

The election tribunal of the High Court will examine the allegations and deliver a final decision regarding the results of the disputed constituencies after completing the hearings.

Political observers say the growing number of election petitions could intensify debate over the credibility of the recent parliamentary polls.