Jhenaidah-1 by-elections postponed

The High Court has postponed the Jhenaidah-1 by-election which was scheduled to be held on June 5, for 21 days.

The HC bench of Justice Md Zakir Hossain passed the order on Monday.

On January 7, the ruling party backed candidate Abdul Hye won the election from Jhenaidah-1 constituency during the 12th national election, but it fell vacant following his death on March 16.

Later, the EC declared the by-election for June 5 for the constituency.

An election petition seeking cancellation of the gazette notification issued following the January 7 election , is processing at the High Court.

The HC also fixed Sunday May 12 for hearing on the petition after postponing the by-polls election schedule for the constituency.

Nazrul Islam, an independent candidate in the January 7 election, filed the election petition seeking a stay order on the gazette for the constituency.

On February 1, Justice AKM Asaduzzaman issued a stay order for two months on the gazette notification.

Before the two months expired, Abdul Hye passed away.

Earlier on January 7, according to the returning officer office, about 49 percent votes were cast at Jhenaidah-1 constituency. But the final results of the election showed that 58.27 percent votes were cast, or 28,389 more than the first report.

When the news spread, a petition was filed to issue a stay order on the voting results and gazette notifications published on January 8 and January 10, respectively.