More than three and a half months after the gazette of the 13th parliamentary election was published, two parliamentary constituencies still have no representation in parliament.
In the meantime, the first session of the 13th parliament has already ended, while preparations are underway for the second session.
Current and former Election Commission officials say such a situation is unprecedented in Bangladesh’s history.
According to Election Commission officials, the gazette publication and oath-taking for the Chattogram-2 and Chattogram-4 constituencies remain suspended due to unresolved loan default cases, despite the elections being held on schedule.
The privately elected winners are Sarwar Alamgir from Chattogram-2 (Fatikchari) and Mohammad Aslam Chowdhury from Chattogram-4 (Sitakunda).
Under the Representation of the People Order (RPO), loan defaulters are barred from contesting elections.
However, both candidates took part in the election after securing stay orders from the High Court.
Although the court allowed them to participate in the polls, the Appellate Division had earlier directed that the election results and gazette notifications for the two constituencies could not be published until the final disposal of the cases.
Md Abdul Alim, a member of the Electoral Reform Commission formed by the interim government, told TIMES of Bangladesh, “Members of Parliament do not only make laws. They are also responsible for addressing the various problems and needs of people in their constituencies. Due to the absence of MPs in these two constituencies, people there are being deprived of representation and services. Therefore, the issue should be resolved quickly.”
Sarwar Alamgir’s company, NFZ Terry Textile, had defaulted loans amounting to Tk 201 crore with the Agrabad branch of Standard Bank. He won the election with 1,38,545 votes with the sheaf of paddy symbol, defeating his nearest rival Mohammad Nurul Amin of Jamaat-e-Islami, who secured 62,160 votes.
Meanwhile, loans taken in the name of organisations owned by Aslam Chowdhury had turned defaulted at Bank Asia and Trust Bank. The court initially granted him relief from January 19 to 31 after he was not shown as a loan defaulter. After the period expired, he again sought a stay order from the court.
Election Commission officials said this is the first time in the country’s history that candidates accused of loan default were allowed to contest elections first, only for the publication of their results to be suspended after their victory.
One official said, “Allowing a candidate to participate in the election and then keeping the results uncertain later cannot be considered an effective solution.”
He added, “It would have been more effective either to suspend the election if necessary or to take a final decision on the candidates’ eligibility beforehand.”
According to the revised RPO, even after being elected, an MP can lose their membership if evidence emerges of loan default or false information in the affidavit submitted during nomination.
Similarly, if the High Court’s stay order preventing them from being listed as defaulters is withdrawn, they may also lose their parliamentary seats.
However, if the loans are repaid through rescheduling while the stay order remains effective, they may avoid immediate risk. Likewise, if the loans are regularised or the court extends the stay period, they could temporarily remain safe from disqualification.
But if they default again during their tenure as MPs or if the stay order expires, they may once again face the risk of losing their seats.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told TIMES, “Everything depends on the court. The Election Commission has nothing to do here. Perhaps hearing dates have already been fixed. We will take the next steps according to the court’s order.”
The legal fate of the two constituencies may be decided in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on 9 June.
The date was fixed on 14 May by an Appellate Division bench led by the Chief Justice.
