Police arrest ex-chief election commissioner Habibul Awal

A case was filed by the BNP against Awal and other election officials over polls held under the Awami League regime

The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has arrested former chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal.

Awal was taken into custody around 2pm on Wednesday from Dhaka’s Moghbazar, according to DMP Deputy Commissioner and spokesman Muhammad Talebur Rahman.

He has been shown arrested under the case filed by the BNP at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, said DB Joint Commissioner (South) Nasirul Islam.

He was apprehended just three days after the arrest of former chief election commissioner Nurul Huda, who is also an accused in the case over conducting elections “without the people's mandate”.

The case accuses a total of 19 people, including deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Election Commission officials who oversaw not only the 12th parliamentary election but also the 10th (2014) and 11th (2018).

Just hours after the BNP filed the case, former chief election commissioner Nurul Huda was picked up from his Uttara residence on Sunday evening by so-called members of the public. He was allegedly harassed and physically assaulted at the time. The video of the incident sparked widespread criticism.

The following day, he was produced before the court, where the judge placed him on a four-day remand for interrogation.

In the Jan 7, 2024 election—boycotted by the BNP and its allies—the ruling Awami League allocated parliamentary seats to its coalition partner and opposition, the Jatiya Party, in an attempt to portray the polls as participatory. In reality, most contests were between ruling party candidates and their own dissidents.

The Awal-led Election Commission included four commissioners - retired senior secretaries Md Alamgir and Anisur Rahman, retired district and sessions judge Rashida Sultana Emily and retired brig gen Ahsan Habib Khan.

All three disputed elections resulted in victories for the Awami League, enabling it to govern the country for over 15 years. Ultimately, Hasina’s government was toppled by a mass student-led civil uprising on Aug 5, 2024.

In December last year, a High Court bench partially annulled the 15th constitutional amendment, paving the way for the restoration of the caretaker government system.

The court’s verdict observed that the three general elections held under the Awami League government “failed to ensure” freedom and fairness, thereby “destroying public trust.”