EC can't compel Cumilla MP Bahar to leave constituency, says CEC Awal

The Election Commission ‘cannot take any action’ against Cumilla MP AKM Bahauddin Bahar if he disregards its order and continues to campaign for the Awami League’s mayoral candidate in breach of the electoral code of conduct, according to Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal.

The lawmaker has come under the spotlight for refusing to comply with the EC's order to leave his constituency. But ‘legal loopholes' have tied the commission’s hands and prevented them from taking any further action, the CEC said on Sunday.

Typically, a request from the commission is enough for an MP but the election regulator has no authority to punish them for failing to comply, he added.

The first elections run by the new Election Commission will be held in Cumilla and some other constituencies across Bangladesh on Jun 15.

As there have been several complaints about breaches of the election code of conduct in some municipalities and union councils, the EC took a strong stance against any irregularities.

The commission, however, did not take any action against the Cumilla MP, other than ‘requesting’ him to leave the area.

The CEC said the commission has some powers, but they partially conflict with the current situation. It can scrap someone’s candidacy in some elections.

For the Cumilla election, the code of conduct clearly bars any government employee or affiliated person from staying in the constituency and taking part directly or indirectly in the election campaign for any candidate. 

“The Cumilla MP has done something similar. We wrote to him to leave the area, but he defied the order. We’ve heard that he filed a case over the incident. We’re waiting for the verdict of that case. We can’t just drive an MP out [from a constituency].”

But the request of the EC should be ‘enough’ for an MP to leave a constituency, the CEC said.