EC issues revised gazette keeping Bagerhat, Gazipur constituencies unchanged

The Election Commission (EC) last night (11 December) issued a revised gazette confirming that Bagerhat and Gazipur will retain their existing parliamentary constituencies.

According to the EC, the revised gazette was issued following a court order which scrapped its previous gazette removing one constituency from Bagerhat and adding one to Gazipur.

With this newly issued gazette, Bagerhat retains its four constituencies and Gazipur five.

The EC stated that the initial draft of the redefined constituencies was published on 30 July under sections 6 and 8 of the National Parliament Constituency Delimitation Act, 2021. The notification invited objections, recommendations, and opinions under Article 3.

As per the schedule announced in a subsequent notification on 18 August, the EC Secretariat held public hearings on the objections and proposals submitted. Following the hearings, and after reviewing all materials, arguments, and recommendations, the Commission published the final list of redesigned constituencies on 4 September.

According to that 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.

Bagerhat Press Club, Bagerhat district BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and other groups had submitted petitions challenging the legality of the EC gazette.

On November 10, 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 Ghazipur-6, filed separate petitions with the Appellate Division seeking a stay order on the ruling.

On November 12, 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 December 3.

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.