Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said that Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia will not be able to contest in the coming national polls even if she is acquitted.

“Khaleda Zia will have to wait at least five years after she finishes serving her term,” said Mahbubey Alam in a media briefing at his office on Tuesday (Nov 27).

“Asking for a suspension on sentence, advocate Fakhrul Islam, Wadud Bhuiyan, Moshiur Rahman, AM Abdul Wahab, Dr Zahid Hossain made an appeal. They are on bail but unless their sentence is suspended they won’t be able to take part in the parliamentary elections, said Mahbubey Alam.

“The conviction cannot be stayed because the constitution states that if someone is sentenced to two years for ethical lapses then that person will not be able to take part in parliamentary election unless five years have passed after his/her release.”

The same will apply for Khaleda Zia, he stressed emphatically.

Our court and appellate divisions are bound by constitution and therefore, cannot circumvent it.