Bagerhat to retain 4 seats, Gazipur 5: Appelate Division scraps EC gazette
There are 14 districts with four constituencies, and among them, Bagerhat has the lowest population, said Election Commission's lawyer Kamal Hossain Miaji
The Appellate Division has upheld the High Court verdict that declared the Election Commission's gazette reducing Bagerhat's four constituencies to three as illegal. At the same time the same court also retained Gazipur's five seats which were gazetted to be modified to six.
A five-member appellate bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed delivered the verdict today (10 December) after hearing the leave-to-appeal petitions (applications seeking permission to appeal) filed against the High Court verdict.
With this order, elections will take place in four seats in Bagerhat and five seats in Gazipur.
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Speaking to journalists after the verdict, Election Commission's lawyer Kamal Hossain Miaji said, "I will inform the Election Commission of the judgment in writing. Based on their instructions, whatever decision they take, I will respond accordingly."
The High Court had ordered the Election Commission to restore Bagerhat's constituencies to their previous structure and publish a new gazette within 24 hours. A journalist asked whether the EC now had any option other than publishing the gazette.
In response, the EC's lawyer said, "Since the High Court Division's verdict has been upheld today by the Appellate Division, the direction issued by the High Court — to publish the gazette within 24 hours — remains in force."
He pointed out that issues regarding inconsistencies in constituency boundaries were presented before the court. He added that constituency delimitation was carried out on the basis of the national average population. There are 14 districts with four constituencies, and among them, Bagerhat has the lowest population. In contrast, there are nine districts with five constituencies, and Gazipur has the highest population and voter count.
"This time, boundaries for 39 constituencies were redrawn. Bagerhat was the only district where a parliamentary seat was curtailed, while Gazipur was the only district where one seat was added. In other districts, changes were limited to shifting one or two unions or upazilas from one constituency to another."
Earlier, on 10 November, a High Court (HC) ruling restored Bagerhat's four seats and Gazipur five, rejecting a decision by the Election Commission (EC) to reduce Bagerhat's seats from four to three.
The HC also directed the EC to publish the updated gazette within 24 hours on that day.
Shortly after the order, the EC and Md Salah Uddin Sarkar, a candidate from Gazipur-6, filed separate petitions with the Appellate Division seeking a stay order on the ruling.
On 12 November, both appeals were first heard at the Appellate Division's chamber court, which scheduled a full hearing for November 16 and ordered the status quo in the meantime.
Meanwhile, the full HC verdict was published on the Supreme Court website on 3 December.
Following this, the EC and Gazipur-6 aspirant Sarkar Jabed Ahmed submitted two separate leave to appeals with the Appellate Division.
Jamaat-e-Islami-nominated candidate Hafizur Rahman had also filed an appeal earlier. All these petitions were heard together.
Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman represented the EC, while senior lawyer M Badruddoza Badal appeared for Jabed Ahmed while senior lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan represented Salah Uddin Sarkar.
Ahead of the upcoming 13th National Election, the Election Commission had initially proposed on 30 July to reduce Bagerhat's constituencies from four to three. The decision sparked widespread protests among local residents, who demanded that the existing four constituencies be retained.
Representatives from various political parties also voiced their opposition during the EC's public hearing.
Despite the objections, the EC published a final gazette on 4 September, keeping the number of constituencies at three with minor boundary adjustments — a move that local leaders from the all-party coordination committee described as "disregarding the people's demand."
According to the EC's final gazette, Bagerhat-1 comprised Bagerhat Sadar, Chitalmari, and Mollahat; Bagerhat-2 included Fakirhat, Rampal, and Mongla; while Bagerhat-3 consisted of Kachua, Morelganj, and Sharankhola.
Historically, Bagerhat has had four constituencies since 1969; Bagerhat-1: Chitalmari, Mollahat, and Fakirhat, Bagerhat-2: Bagerhat Sadar and Kachua, Bagerhat-3: Rampal and Mongla, Bagerhat-4: Morelganj and Sharankhola.
