| EC's polls delay was a breach of constitution: HC | | | | Thu, May 22nd, 2008 6:34 pm BdST | | |
Dhaka, May 22 (bdnews24.com)—The High Court says the Election Commission has violated the constitution by failing to hold elections in 90 days from the dissolution of parliament.
The HC bench of justices MA Rashid and Ashfaqul Islam handed down a verdict Thursday after concluding its hearing on a public interest litigation filed by barrister Masud Reza Sobhan on Jan 24.
In an observation, the court however said the election planned for December in line with the EC roadmap was a "logical decision". It added that the court did not have an alternative to accepting the EC decision on holding polls in December.
But the court said the constitution does not allow the chief adviser to announce an election schedule.
The Election Commission did not comply with its constitutional obligations, the HC said. "It violated the constitution."
The rule of law and democracy were not established in this country through repeated violations of the constitution, the court said.
According to the constitution, the HC said, national elections must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of parliament, and the EC does not have the power to overrule the constitution.
"The Election Commission does not have the power to extend the 90-day time limit set by the constitution," the court said.
The EC's responsibility is to hold polls, through which a caretaker government will transfer power to an elected government, said the court.
The court added that it appeared the EC was not truly independent.
In an address to the nation on May 12, the chief adviser announced the third week in December as a probable timeframe for the national polls.
However, fixing a specific date for the election was left up to the EC, the court said.
Following the verdict, Masud Reza Sobhan, who filed the litigation, told reporters that the EC had intentionally delayed the polls, arguing the commission could have completed its preparation long ago, if it had been serious.
Sobhan called on the chief election commissioner and other commissioners to resign.
After the verdict, Dr Shahdeen Malik, counsel for the EC, reminded reporters that the court had said an election promised by December was a logical move.
Malik said the court's comments focused on democracy, which would be achieved by an election.
He added that a decision on whether to appeal the verdict would be taken in consultation with the EC.
Election commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain said Thursday's verdict would not affect EC's activities.
"Ninety days were over long ago. The court's verdict said enough time had to be allowed to prepare the electoral roll with modern technology to hold a free and fair election," Sohul said.
On April 30, the HC asked the EC to inform the court of a specific date for the election. In its reply, the EC said the election would be held in December and the electoral roll would be completed by October.
bdnews24.com/at/my/ad/am/1828 hours | | WARNING: Any unauthorised use or reproduction of bdnews24.com content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action. | |
__._,_.___
[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com
__,_._,___
