It's alarming

Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday told the High Court that declaring 153 people elected unopposed in the January 5 parliamentary election was alarming.
According to the constitution, a representative of people must be elected through voting, he said.
The eminent jurist was placing arguments as amicus curiae (friend of court) before the HC during the hearing on a writ petition that challenged the legality of Article 19 of the Representation of the People Order (RPO).
The provision allows the Election Commission to declare a lone contender elected uncontested in a parliamentary constituency.
Exercising this authority, the EC declared 153 candidates elected in the January 5 polls without a single vote being cast.
Kamal Hossain argued that the EC was required to be independent in functioning under the constitution and that its role in the latest polls was questionable.
The interpretation of the Article 19 of the RPO should be examined, as it is a matter of great public importance, he said.
“We should learn from history that anything unconstitutional does not hold good for society. We want peace and stability in the society at any cost, not at the cost of the constitution,” the prominent lawyer said.      
After concluding yesterday's hearing, the HC bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar fixed June 4 for the next hearing.
A Jatiya Party leader, Khandker Abdus Salam, who had been disqualified from contesting the national election from a Gazipur constituency on loan defaulting charges, filed the writ petition in December last year with the HC, challenging the RPO provision.  
The HC bench in February issued a rule upon the EC and the government, asking them to explain why the provision should not be declared unconstitutional.