Defeated BNP candidates for the Rajshahi-4 and Pabna-4 constituencies have filed petitions with the High Court, alleging electoral malpractices and rigging during the 13th National Parliamentary Election.
The petitioners have sought a formal directive from the court for a recount of the votes.
On Sunday, the Election Appeal Tribunal, presided over by Justice Md Zakir Hossain, accepted the two applications for hearing.
Simultaneously, the court ordered the Election Commission to take all election-related materials and equipment from those two constituencies into its official custody.
The tribunal also issued notices to the winning candidates of the respective seats and scheduled 11 May for the next hearing on the petitions.
Advocate Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared in court on behalf of the BNP candidates, assisted by Advocate Habibur Rahman.
In the Rajshahi-4 constituency, the defeated BNP candidate Ziaur Rahman brought allegations of rigging against the victorious Jamaat-e-Islami candidate, Abdul Bari. Meanwhile, in Pabna-4, BNP’s defeated candidate Habibur Rahman filed a similar complaint against the winning Jamaat candidate, Abu Taleb Mondal.
