HC clears Hero Alom to run for parliament

The High Court has ordered the Election Commission to accept the nomination of Bogura independent candidate Ashraful Alom, popularly known as Hero Alom.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 10 Dec 2018, 11:53 AM
Updated : 10 Dec 2018, 11:57 AM

Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil made the decision on Monday alongside a rule.

This clears the way for the social media star to contest the Bogura-4 seat in the Dec 30 polls.

Hero Alom, who had 390,588 followers on his Facebook page on Monday, came to fame with amateur music videos that fired up social media.

The returning officer had rejected his nomination during the scrutiny process on Dec 2.

He then appealed the decision, which was rejected by the Election Commission on Dec 6.

Alom then took the matter to the High Court.

The court heard his petition and then ordered the Election Commission to accept his nomination.

Md Kawsar Ali represented Alom in court. Deputy Attorney General Mokhlesur Rahman represented the state.

Alom, according to the requirements for independent candidates, had submitted the signatures of 1 percent of his constituency backing his candidacy. But it was later alleged that some of the signatures had been forged.

“The court has stayed the Election Commission’s decision on Hero Alom’s candidacy and ordered them to accept his nomination,” said his lawyer Kawsar Ali. “This means Hero Alom’s candidacy is valid. He can run for office.”

“I am very happy now,” Alom told reporters after the decision.

“This has proven that the High Court can give us justice. The EC’s claim that my voter list was fake has been proven false. We have shown them up at the High Court.”

Hero Alom had initially requested the Jatiya Party’s nomination for the Bagura-4 (Kahalu-Nandigram) seat. He submitted his application as an independent candidate after he was passed over by the party.