EC suspends polls in Pabna-1, Pabna-2 constituencies

The Election Commission (EC) has decided to temporarily suspend voting in the Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies of the 13th national parliamentary election following a ruling by the Appellate Division on constituency delimitation.

Election Commissioner AbdurRahmanelMasud said the polls in the two seats have not been cancelled but will remain on hold until further orders from the Supreme Court.

EC officials said the Appellate Division on January 5 stayed part of a revised gazette on constituency boundaries published by the commission on December 24, creating legal uncertainty over the delimitation of the two Pabna constituencies. The decision to suspend the elections was taken after the commission received a copy of the court order.

The EC had earlier redrawn the boundaries of Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 in line with a High Court verdict, but the Appellate Division’s stay prevented the changes from taking effect. Officials said the unresolved legal dispute over the constituency boundaries prompted the suspension.

However, Pabna Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Shahed Mostafa said he had not yet received any formal directive from the commission regarding the suspension. “Once we receive official instructions, we will act accordingly,” he said.