Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has confessed in court that there was a dummy election in 2024.
He made this confession during a hearing in the court of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Mostafizur Rahman on Thursday.
He said, “The 2024 election was a dummy election. It was a farce election. This dummy election was held because there was no agreement between the political parties.”
After Habibul Awal’s answer, the court asked him, “Then why didn’t you resign?”
Habibul Awal avoided answering the court’s question. He said that no CEC had resigned in the past.
Habibul Awal later raised the issue of irregularities in the 1996 election and the election in Sheikh Mujibur Rahman regime.
The court granted a three-day remand to Habibul Awal in a case filed by the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on charges of depriving people of their voting rights through a farce election, including holding daytime voting at night. The police had requested a 10-day remand in this case.
Earlier, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) announced the arrest from the capital's Moghbazar area on Wednesday morning.
Another former CEC, KM Nurul Huda, was arrested last Sunday in the same case. The court granted him a four-day remand the following Monday.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
