A plea filed with the High Court challenges the legitimacy of the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the four commissioners.
On Monday (Nov 26), lawyer Yusuf Ali moved the petition seeking to scrap the 2017 gazette notification appointing KM Nurul Huda as the CEC and Mahbub Talukder, Rafiqul Islam, Kabita Khanam and Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury as commissioners.
Citing the Constitution’s Section 118 (1), Yousuf Ali told the media that appointment of the CEC and the commissioner is supposed to happen in line with a law.
“A law is yet to be made, but the appointments took place. We seek a rule asking why the respondents’ inactiveness over fulfilling the provisions of Section 118 (1) will not be declared illegal,” he said.
The CEC, commissioners, secretaries to EC Secretariat and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs have been made respondents in the petition.
Citing Section 118 (4), which stipulates the Commission shall be independent in the exercise of its functions and subject only to the Constitution and law, Ali said, “CEC KM Nurul Huda was appointed despite not having prior experience of undertaking independent responsibility.”