Bangladesh High Court to Rule Wednesday on BCB Election Legality and Voter List Dispute
The Bangladesh High Court is set to issue a ruling on Wednesday regarding the legitimacy of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) election schedule and its finalized voter list. The order follows a hearing held on Tuesday before a bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice Md. Ashish Hasan.
The legal challenge, filed by Armanul Islam Nayan and five other petitioners, stems from a dispute over the nomination process for BCB councilors. The petitioners, who assert they were duly appointed as councilors for the 2025-29 term, moved the court to contest a May 6 letter issued by the BCB chief executive officer regarding the nomination of representatives to the general assembly. They further requested a stay on the election schedule, which was officially announced on May 16, with polls currently slated for June 7.
The petitioners sought legal recourse after discovering their names had been omitted from the voter list published by the election commission on May 17, with a final version released on May 19. A supplemental petition was filed on May 24, seeking a court order to include the applicants as legitimate councilors and to halt the election proceedings until a revised voter list is established.
During the hearing, the petitioners were represented by senior counsel Mohammad Hossain, alongside lawyers Azim Uddin Patwary and Md. Shafiqul Islam. The state was represented by Attorney General Md. Ruhul Quddus Kajal and Additional Attorney General Aneek R. Haque, while the BCB was represented by lawyer Mahin M. Rahman.
The writ names several high-ranking officials and entities as respondents, including the Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Chairman of the National Sports Council, the president of the BCB ad-hoc committee, the BCB chief executive officer, and the deputy commissioners of Bandarban, Khulna, Lakshmipur, Faridpur, Brahmanbaria, and Bogra. Counsel Azim Uddin Patwary confirmed that the court has scheduled the final order for Wednesday following the conclusion of proceedings.
