State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque has filed a petition in the High Court challenging the outcome of the 13th National Parliament election in the Dhaka-16 constituency.
The petition is scheduled to be heard on Sunday by a single bench of the High Court headed by Justice Md. Zakir Hossain.
A former captain of the Bangladesh national football team, Aminul Haque contested the election as the BNP-nominated candidate for Dhaka-16 but was defeated by Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Md Abdul Baten by a margin of 3,361 votes. Abdul Baten secured 88,828 votes against Haque's 85,467 votes.
Despite the electoral defeat, Haque was appointed State Minister for Youth and Sports in the new BNP-led government as a technocrat.
Earlier, more than 15 candidates filed similar petitions challenging election results. The High Court accepted the applications for hearing and ordered the preservation of all relevant election materials, including ballots, to allow proper scrutiny. An Election Tribunal has been constituted within the High Court under Section 49 of the Representation of the People Ordinance to adjudicate allegations of electoral irregularities.
According to the High Court Division's list of proceedings, the bench presided over by Justice Md. Zakir Hossain is empowered to receive and hear election petitions and decide on all related matters under the Representation of the People Ordinance 1972, as amended by the Representation of the People Amendment Ordinance 2001.
