Five candidates including Mamunul Haque file case in High Court over vote rigging

Maulana Mamunul Haque, Amir of Khilafat Majlis and a candidate of an 11-party alliance, has filed an election petition with the High Court alleging vote rigging in the 13th National Parliament election.

Four BNP candidates have also filed separate petitions on similar allegations.

The High Court’s Election Tribunal, headed by Justice Md. Zakir Hossain, is scheduled to hear the petitions on Wednesday (March 11).

The petitioners are:

• Maulana Mamunul Haque, Amir of Khilafat Majlis and candidate of an 11-party alliance

• Faruk Alam Sarkar, BNP candidate from Gaibandha-5

• Nabi Ullah Nabi, BNP candidate from Dhaka-5

• Hasan Zafir Tuhin, BNP candidate from Pabna-3

• Syed Mehedi Ahmed Rumi, BNP candidate from Kushtia-4

Earlier, the tribunal heard petitions from 14 BNP candidates, eight candidates from an 11-party alliance and one independent candidate who also alleged vote rigging in different constituencies.

Following those hearings, the election bench ordered the High Court to take custody of the ballot papers and result sheets of the relevant constituencies.

Under Section 49 of the Representation of the People Order (RPO), candidates may file an election petition with the High Court Division over alleged irregularities or rigging in an election.

The single bench of Justice Md. Zakir Hossain is currently conducting regular hearings on such petitions. The tribunal will review the allegations and later decide on the validity of the election results in the constituencies concerned.