Staff Reporter:
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court cleared the way for holding parliamentary elections in the Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies on 12 February.
The decision resolves recent uncertainty over the two seats, which had been caught in legal disputes over constituency delimitation, and allows the Election Commission (EC) to resume all administrative and logistical preparations for voting.
According to court sources, the apex court clarified that the elections would be held under the boundaries fixed by the EC’s gazette published on 4 September following delimitation. Under this arrangement, Santhia upazila will fall under Pabna-1, while Pabna-2 will comprise Sujanagar and Bera upazilas.
A five-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, overturned a High Court verdict that had blocked the EC’s 4 September gazette. The High Court had earlier declared illegal the transfer of Bera municipality and four unions from Pabna-1 to Pabna-2, but the Appellate Division reinstated the EC’s delimitation for the upcoming polls.
The Supreme Court also stayed the High Court’s judgment until final disposal of the appeal against that verdict.
The order followed a leave-to-appeal petition filed on Monday by Barrister Muhammad Nazibur Rahman Momen, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate for Pabna-1 and son of late party chief Motiur Rahman Nizami. He sought a directive for the EC to resume electoral activities in the two constituencies. Barrister Imran Siddiq moved the petition during the hearing.
On 10 January, citing an Appellate Division ruling on seat delimitation, the EC had suspended all electoral activities in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 until further instructions.
Earlier, on 5 January, the Appellate Division had stayed the EC’s amended gazette of 24 December, which had redrawn the boundaries of the two constituencies.
With the latest ruling, the EC is now expected to move forward with preparations to ensure polling in both seats takes place on schedule.
