Sarwar Alamgir takes oath as Chattogram-2 MP after five-month legal battle

BNP candidate Sarwar Alamgir, elected from Chattogram-2 constituency, took oath as a member of parliament today (9 July), after about five months of legal complications over his candidacy.

Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed administered the oath to him at the oath-taking room of parliament this evening.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attended the oath-taking ceremony. Local government minister, finance minister, deputy speaker, chief whip, other whips, lawmakers, and relevant officials of the parliament secretariat were also present.

Earlier, the Election Commission (EC) declared Sarwar Alamgir the winner from Chattogram-2 in the 13th parliamentary election and published the gazette notification.

He won the 12 February election by nearly 70,000 votes. However, the EC had withheld publication of the result gazette after a legal dispute arose over an allegation that he was a loan defaulter.

The dispute began during the scrutiny of nomination papers, when the returning officer approved his candidacy. Later, Jamaat nominated candidate from the same constituency, Muhammad Nurul Amin, who appealed to the EC, alleging that Sarwar was a loan defaulter.

Following the appeal, the EC cancelled Sarwar's candidacy. He then moved to the High Court, challenging the decision.

The High Court later stayed the EC's decision and allowed him to contest the election with the "paddy sheaf" symbol. The Appellate Division also allowed him to participate in the election but directed the EC to withhold publication of the results until the legal dispute was finally resolved.

Recently, a High Court bench comprising Justice Fahmida Kader and Justice Md Asif Hasan upheld his candidacy. Following the court's order, the EC formally declared him elected and published the gazette.