The BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Panel, also known as the Blue Panel, secured a landslide victory in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election for the 2026-27 term, winning 13 out of 14 executive committee posts, including the key positions of president and secretary.
Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon was elected president, while Mohammad Ali won the post of secretary from the same panel.
The election results were announced around 2:00 AM on Friday by election sub-committee convener and former High Court judge Justice Md Miftah Uddin Chowdhury after completion of vote counting at the SCBA auditorium.
Md Magfur Rahman Sheikh and Md Shahjahan were elected vice-presidents, while Md Ziaur Rahman won the treasurer post. Maksud Ullah and Mohammad Shamsul Islam Mukul were elected assistant secretaries.
The elected executive members from the BNP-backed panel are HM Sanjid Siddiqui, AKM Azad Hossain, Md Kabir Hossain, Md Tipu Sultan, Md Zia Uddin Mia and Wahid Afroz Chowdhury.
Md Azim Uddin Patwary of the Jamaat-e-Islami-backed Lawyers’ Unity Panel, also known as the Green Panel, won one of the seven executive member posts, becoming the lone non-BNP-backed winner.
A total of 4,048 votes were cast in the two-day election held on May 13 and 14 at the SCBA auditorium. Of them, 1,771 votes were cast on the first day and 2,277 on the second day. Voting was held from 10:00am to 5:00pm each day with a one-hour lunch break.
Election officials said 40 candidates contested for the 14 posts of the executive committee.
Lawyers backed by the Awami League did not participate in the election after many of their prospective candidates were reportedly disqualified during scrutiny. The election was mainly contested between the BNP-backed panel and the Jamaat-backed panel, while some independent and National Citizen Party-backed candidates also joined the race.
The SCBA election was held after a gap of nearly two years following political changes after the August 5, 2024 mass uprising.
AM
