Ex-CEC Habibul Awal on 3-day remand

A Dhaka court today placed former chief election commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on a three-day remand in a case filed over alleged irregularities and bias during the last three national elections.

Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman passed the order after Awal was produced before the court by police, who had sought a 10-day remand for interrogation, said a court staffer.

Awal was arrested yesterday in the capital's Moghbazar area.

On June 22, a case was filed by the BNP with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, naming Awal alongside two other former CECs, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad and KM Nurul Huda, ten former election commissioners, and eleven others.

The allegations pertain to the 10th, 11th, and 12th parliamentary elections, held in 2014, 2018, and 2024 respectively.

Earlier that day, a five-member BNP delegation led by party executive committee member Salahuddin Khan submitted a copy of the case application to current CEC AMM Nasir Uddin at the Election Commission.

In its complaint, the BNP alleged that in all three parliamentary elections, their leaders and supporters were targeted with false cases, abductions, and threats.

It said that many were arrested or harassed so that they could not take part in the polls.

The accused in the case, according to the BNP, were involved in irregularities during the three national elections.

Among those named in the case are former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan.

Also included are former inspectors general of police Hasan Mahmud Khandker, Javed Patwary, and Shahidul Haque; former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Benazir Ahmed; former Special Branch chief Monirul Islam; and former heads of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).

The BNP claimed these individuals were responsible for voter intimidation and manipulation of the electoral process.