Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda has given a confessional statement in a court. In his statement on Tuesday, he confessed to conducting a farcical election without the participation of the voters in the national elections.
After two phases of eight-day remand, the investigating officer of the case, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Sub-Inspector Shamsuzzoha Sarkar, presented him before the court on Tuesday.
When the accused Nurul Huda expressed his willingness to give a confessional statement, the investigating officer applied to the court to record it.
His statement was recorded in the court of Dhaka’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Ziadur Rahman. After recording the statement, the court ordered that he be sent to jail.
Nurul Huda’s lawyer, Tawhidul Islam Sajib, confirmed the confession.
He said, “When the accused was presented before the court after the remand, we appeared with a bail petition. Then we learned that he was giving a confessional statement admitting his guilt.”
On the evening of June 22, local residents detained Nurul Huda from his home in Sector 5 of Uttara in the capital and handed him over to the police.
The next day, police took him on a four-day remand in a case filed on charges of conducting a farcical election by abusing power. Later, on June 27, he was taken on another four-day remand.
Earlier, on June 22, a case was filed at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station against three former Chief Election Commissioners — Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, Nurul Huda, and Kazi Habibul Awal — and 24 others on charges of abusing power to conduct a farcical election. The case was filed by BNP National Executive Committee member Md. Salah Uddin Khan. Later, on June 25, charges of treason, fraud, and embezzlement were added to the case.
Former Secretary Nurul Huda was sworn in as CEC on February 15, 2017. He was the country’s 12th Chief Election Commissioner. Under his leadership, the five-member commission conducted the 11th parliamentary election in 2018 and all local elections. These elections were widely criticized for alleged vote rigging and low voter turnout.