EC plans to complete hearing in 9 days

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The Election Commission (EC) has planned to complete hearings on about 3,000 appeals filed with it against re-demarcation of 74 parliamentary constituencies in just nine days beginning from June 15.

The time to complete the mammoth task of hearing and disposing such a huge number of appeals is much short compared to what the EC experienced previously for the same job.

In 1984, the EC took 13 days to hear only 307 appeals against its initiative to redraw the constituencies.

This time, the commission obviously faces more pressure as far as the number of appeals is concerned. Leaders and activists of different political parties filed the huge amount of appeals, challenging the re-demarcation of the constituencies.

If the EC hears the appeals until June 29, it may not be possible for the commission to publish the final list of parliamentary constituencies to be redrawn by the end of June as per its electoral roadmap.

On completion of the hearings, the EC will have to make decisions on the basis of merits of the appeals and the next procedures may consume more time.

According to a draft schedule, hearings on the appeals filed against re-demarcation of the constituencies in Dhaka division will be held on June 15-17 at the EC Secretariat conference room.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda and election commissioners Muhammed Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain will then visit other divisional headquarters from June 19 to hear the appeals, sources in the EC said.

As per the draft schedule, the hearings on appeals in Sylhet division will be held on June 19 at Sylhet Circuit House, in Barisal division on June 25 at Barisal Circuit House, in Khulna division on June 26 at Khulna Circuit House and in Rajshahi division on June 29 at Rajshahi Circuit House.

The hearings on appeals against re-demarcation of constituencies in Chittagong division will be held in two parts–on June 22 at Comilla Circuit House and on June 23 at Chittagong Circuit House.

The details of the schedules are likely to be disclosed today through a notification issued by the EC Secretariat, in which appellants will be asked to come up with their arguments at the hearings in their respective areas.

This is by far the largest number of appeals filed following the EC’s move to re-demarcate 133 constituencies ahead of the next parliamentary elections.

The re-demarcation plan was unveiled on April 29 this year amid growing opposition from major political parties, which maintain that the move will create obstacles to holding of the upcoming ninth parliamentary polls by the end of this year as announced in the electoral roadmap.

No appeal was filed against the re-demarcation of 59 parliamentary constituencies.

On receiving the appeals, the EC has reiterated that most appeals do not have merits.

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