Bdnews24.com

The High Court Monday asked the Election Commission and the government to explain why the Election Commission's decision to redraw 133 parliamentary constituencies would not be declared illegal.

The bench of justices Syed Mahmud Hossain and Farid Ahmed issued the rule nisi in line with a writ petition by former BNP lawmaker Abdul Mannan of Dhaka-2 (Nawabganj) constituency challenging the validity of the re-demarcation of parliament seats.

The chief election commissioner, two election commissioners, EC secretary and principal secretary to the chief adviser have been asked to respond to the rule nisi in two weeks.

But the court did not stay the process of delimitation.

Advocate Khandker Mahbubuddin Ahmad appeared in the hearing on the writ petition and barrister Nasiruddin Ahmed Ashim assisted him.

Mahbubuddin told the court that a census would be held after the Jatiya Sangsad election as per election law that would precede re-demarcation of parliament seats.

The lawyer for Mannan said: "As per law the delimitation of parliament constituencies would have to be done before preparation of the electoral roll."

"But 80 percent work of voter listing has already been completed. The delimitation of the constituencies by the EC was against the constitution," he said.

According to the constitution, the EC's duty is to hold election within 90 days from the dissolution of Jatiya Sangsad, the lawyer said.

If the decision of delimitation were taken with short time in hand after dissolution of parliament, making objections and settling the contradictions would not be possible. It will also hamper the preparation of the election, the lawyer argued.

Additional attorney general Salauddin Ahmad told the court that the writ petition regarding the delimitation had been aimed at delaying the election. Delimitation was a decision of the Election Commission.

Mahbubudddin ruled out the state lawyer's allegation.

"If the decision to delimit constituency were suspended, the election would not be delayed. The EC's decision on the delimitation would rather delay the polls. Why did the EC not delimit the constituencies in the last six years?" he asked.

Salauddin argued and blamed the BNP government for non-delimitation. "BNP was in power. Why did it not do it?"

Mahbubuddin said, "It is the EC, not the government that is responsible for delimitation.

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