BNP’s Sarwar Alamgir declared eligible; no legal bar to taking oath as MP
The High Court has declared the candidacy of BNP's Sarwar Alamgir, the elected lawmaker from the Chattogram-2 constituency in the 13th National Parliamentary Election, to be valid. The ruling removes all legal obstacles to his taking the oath of office as a Member of Parliament.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday (July 9) by a High Court bench comprising Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md. Asif Hasan.
Earlier, although the Returning Officer had accepted Sarwar Alamgir's nomination papers, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Muhammad Nurul Amin challenged his eligibility before the Election Commission (EC), alleging that he was a loan defaulter.
Following a hearing, the EC cancelled Sarwar Alamgir's nomination on January 18. The next day, January 19, he filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the Commission's decision and seeking restoration of his candidacy.
After hearing the petition, the High Court stayed the EC's decision to cancel his nomination. Jamaat candidate Md. Nurul Amin then filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the Appellate Division against the High Court order.
On February 3, the Appellate Division granted leave to appeal. However, it allowed Sarwar Alamgir to contest the February 12 election while directing that the results for the Chattogram-2 constituency could not be officially published until the appeal was finally disposed of.
In the election, Sarwar Alamgir secured victory with 138,545 votes. His nearest rival, Jamaat-e-Islami's Muhammad Nurul Amin, received 62,160 votes. However, in compliance with the Appellate Division's directive, the Election Commission withheld publication of the official gazette for the constituency. As a result, Sarwar Alamgir was unable to take the oath as a Member of Parliament.
Subsequently, Sarwar Alamgir applied to the Appellate Division seeking permission for publication of the election gazette and for administering his oath. With the High Court's latest ruling upholding the validity of his candidacy, the way has now been cleared for him to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament.