The High Court (HC) yesterday stayed for three months the process of holding the by-election for the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor's post. It was slated for February 26. The post fell vacant following the death of Annisul Huq on November 30 last year. 

In response to two separate writ petitions, an HC bench, comprising Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed, also issued a rule, asking the authorities concerned to explain why the by-election schedule, announced by the Election Commission (EC), should not be declared illegal.

Five people, including the secretary of the local government, rural development and co-operatives (LGRD) ministry and EC secretary, have been made respondents to reply to the rule within four weeks.

The bench came up with the stay order on the DNCC by-poll at a time when the Awami League (AL) and the BNP have already picked their mayor candidates—Atiqul Islam and Tabith Awal, respectively. Possible candidates of other parties have already started wooing voters.

Soon after the HC order, both the Awami League and the BNP were locked in a debate and counter-debate over the DNCC by-poll.

The BNP alleged that the stay was planned by the government, while the AL said it had nothing to do with it.

During the hearing on the writ petitions, advocate Kamrul Haque Siddiqui and Mostafizur Rahman, with the assistance of barrister Ahsan Habib, appeared for the petitioners, while deputy attorney general Moklesur Rahman represented the state.

Lawyers from both parties told reporters that the EC could not hold the election before the final disposal of the writ petitions or lifting of the stay order by the HC.

Kamrul Haque Siddiqui and Mustafizur Rahman Khan told the court that the EC had declared the poll schedule illegally before updating the Dhaka North City’s voter list after 18 new wards were added to the DNCC. They also argued that holding councillor polls in the newly added wards before abolishing the union parishads would also be illegal.

The lawyers told the court that the unions, outside Dhaka North City, were made wards and added to the city without abolishing the union parishads, or without vacating the chairmen’s offices, though the incumbents’ five-year tenure would end in 2020.

Jahangir Alam, chairman of the Beraid union parishad, and Ataur Rahman, chairman of the Bhatara union parishad, filed the two petitions, challenging the legality of the schedule for the polls to elect the mayor and councillors of the 18 new wards.

Jahangir Alam, general secretary of Badda thana Awami League, in his petition, said the EC was yet to give him the CD containing the voter list, even though the commission had fixed January 18 for the submission of nomination. If he does not get the CD, he cannot submit the nomination and contest the election as it is not possible to provide the signatures of 300 voters along with the nomination paper without getting the updated voter list, he added.

Ataur Rahman, treasurer of the Dhaka North City BNP, in his petition, said the EC has illegally declared the poll schedule without fulfilling the 75 per cent quorum of ward councillors’ posts in the DNCC. As per the provision, the EC cannot hold a mayoral election without filling up the 75 quorum of the ward councillors’ posts. A number of ward councillor posts are currently vacant in the DNCC.

As per the provision of Section 5(3) of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009, at least 75 per cent of the total number of ward councillors have to be elected and the election results must be published in a gazette for filling up the mayor’s post. But the EC declared the election schedule before the filling of the ward councillor posts.

The by-poll for the DNCC mayor’s post was scheduled to be held on February 26. The EC had fixed January 18 as the last date for filing of nomination, while scrutiny was supposed to be held on January 21 and 22. The last date for withdrawal of nomination was January 29.

The EC were to arrange polls to the 36 councillor posts and 12 reserved seats in the 36 new wards—18 of the DNCC and 18 of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC)—on the same day.