Dhaka, Bangladesh — Chanting slogans outdoors the headquarters of the Bangladesh Election Fee (BEC) on Sunday, pupil activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion (BNP) accused the physique of bias, as police and border guards stood watch.
Forward of the February 12 nationwide vote, the members of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) — the BNP’s pupil wing — had been demanding that the BEC permit candidates with twin citizenship to contest.
The identical night time, although, the polling authority got here underneath verbal assault from the other political nook too. Leaders of the Nationwide Citizen Occasion (NCP), which emerged from the protests that led to the ouster of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, additionally accused the BEC of bias and performing in favour of the BNP.
The competing accusations in opposition to the election physique underscore a deepening divide over who needs to be allowed to contest within the elections that threatens to derail the nation’s preparations for the elections.
NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan mentioned at a information convention on Sunday that the occasion may rethink its participation within the election.
The dispute
Underneath Bangladeshi regulation, overseas residents are barred from contesting parliamentary elections.
Throughout scrutiny of nomination papers and a subsequent nine-day attraction course of that ended on Sunday, the BEC reviewed dozens of objections associated to the alleged twin citizenship of 25 candidates.
In the end, the fee upheld the candidacy of 23 candidates and cancelled the nominations of the remaining two.
In a number of situations, the BEC cleared the nominations after candidates submitted paperwork or affidavits stating that that they had renounced, or utilized to resign, overseas citizenship.
All events seem to have benefitted from the BEC’s resolution to permit these candidatures. Of the 23 that had been authorized, 10 belong to the BNP. 4 candidates of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the nation’s largest Islamist group and the NCP’s coalition associate, had been additionally authorized, in addition to an NCP candidate, regardless of questions over twin citizenship. One other authorized candidate belongs to the Khelafat Majlis, additionally an alliance associate of the Jamaat and the NCP.
The remaining seven candidates to be authorized by the BEC belong to smaller events or are contesting as independents, not allied with both of the 2 main teams.
The NCP claims that its candidate, whose nomination was underneath scrutiny, had not knowledgeable it about his twin citizenship, and the occasion has determined to withdraw his candidacy within the election.
Mahabub Alam, an NCP chief who attended the BEC hearings the place the complaints had been heard, informed Al Jazeera: “Requiring candidates to show they’ve renounced overseas citizenship whereas accepting solely future commitments constitutes selective and unconstitutional therapy.”
He claimed that the strategy “favours sure events”, alluding to the BNP, whose candidates are the most important beneficiaries of the BEC transfer to permit some twin residents to contest. Alam identified that candidates who had submitted functions to resign overseas citizenships might additionally withdraw these pleas earlier than a closing resolution, with out Bangladeshi authorities essentially attending to know.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin rejected the allegations of bias, saying the selections had been guided by a want to make sure participation.
“We wish an election with participation from all sides,” he informed candidates and their representatives after the hearings. “We have now not delivered any judgement with bias.”
Previous observe file
Bangladesh presently permits its residents to acquire a second citizenship from a listing of 103 international locations.
Nevertheless, Article 66(2) of its Structure disqualifies an individual in the event that they purchase the citizenship of a overseas state.
The present battle strains are drawn over interpretations of what the Structure says. Does a candidate want to finish the formal renunciation of overseas citizenship earlier than submitting nomination papers? Or is making use of to relinquish that citizenship ample to keep away from disqualification?
Critics argue that accepting affidavits or verbal assurances weakens constitutional safeguards and permits selective enforcement.
Underneath United Kingdom procedures, as an example, a declaration of renunciation have to be registered by the Residence Workplace earlier than it takes impact; till then, the applicant stays a British citizen.
The BEC has not publicly issued detailed authorized reasoning for particular person selections to date.
The fee has, nevertheless, beforehand cancelled candidacies over twin citizenship. In January 2024, Shammi Ahmed, a nominee of Hasina’s Awami League occasion for Barishal-4 constituency, had her candidacy cancelled by the BEC over twin citizenship allegations — a choice later upheld by the Supreme Court docket’s Appellate Division.
Political strain intensifies
The dispute moved past the Election Fee on Sunday night when a Jamaat-e-Islami delegation, led by occasion chief Shafiqur Rahman, met interim authorities head Muhammad Yunus.
After the assembly, Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, Jamaat’s deputy chief, additionally accused the BEC of bias in selections on candidate nominations, together with on questions of twin citizenship.
With out naming any occasion, Taher mentioned Jamaat had heard that strain was being exerted on the fee to stop the cancellation of nominations that ought to in any other case have been declared invalid on account of authorized flaws.
“We wish to state clearly that the Election Fee should not bow to any strain — whoever the occasion could also be, even whether it is Jamaat-e-Islami,” he mentioned.
A day later, on Monday afternoon, an NCP delegation led by occasion convener Nahid Islam additionally met Yunus, accusing the BEC of performing underneath strain from the BNP in permitting candidates accused of holding overseas citizenship to contest.
Talking to journalists afterwards, Nahid mentioned the fee had deviated from its authorized place.
“There are candidates with twin citizenship within the BNP, and there are candidates with twin citizenship in Jamaat,” he mentioned. “Which occasion they belong to isn’t the difficulty. The difficulty is whether or not the regulation is being utilized equally to everybody.”
“It’s clear that the fee has moved away from the authorized place underneath strain from one occasion and is utilizing a flawed interpretation of the regulation to offer these candidates a possibility,” he added.
“If the Election Fee can’t preserve neutrality, how can we count on a good election?” Nahid mentioned, warning that continued bias would elevate doubts concerning the credibility of the vote.
Nahid mentioned the occasion would problem the selections in court docket and will take to the streets if needed.
‘Ethically problematic too’
Political analyst Mohiuddin Ahmad mentioned permitting twin residents to run was not solely unconstitutional but additionally “ethically problematic”.
He questioned whether or not allegiance to a different state could possibly be reconciled with representing Bangladeshi voters.
“If the fee knowingly overlooks constitutional necessities, it undermines its mandate and dangers invalidating the election itself,” he informed Al Jazeera.
Dilara Choudhury, a political analyst, mentioned affidavits alone had been inadequate to satisfy authorized necessities and warned that the BEC risked dropping ethical authority if it failed to stick strictly to process.
“If the Election Fee’s picture as impartial is broken, how can it ship a reputable election?” she mentioned. “If the election turns into questionable and residents lose belief, it will likely be a futile train — and the federal government shaped via it can additionally face questions of legitimacy.”
