AL lawmaker Shafiqul has to explain his eligibility

The Election Commission (EC) has decided to serve a notice upon Awami League (AL) lawmaker Shafiqul Azam Khan, asking him to explain why his parliament membership should not be cancelled on grounds of ineligibility.
Shafiqul, who was elected an MP from Jhenidah-3 constituency on an AL ticket in the recent parliamentary election, was a mayor of Moheshpur municipality at the time of the poll. According to the electoral law, he was disqualified from running for the parliament since he was holding an office of profit at the time.
But he was able to contest in the poll as the chamber judge of the Appellate Division of Supreme Court had stayed a High Court (HC) verdict upholding the bar, following a petition filed by the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) mayor challenging the disqualification.
DCC Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka also ran for the parliament despite holding an office of profit, but lost the race. Later, he did not file regular appeals against the HC verdict within deadlines that were extended several times.
Finally, on May 6, 2009, the registrar's office of the Supreme Court sent an office order to the EC Secretariat, saying the timeframe for filing a regular leave to appeal against the HC verdict had expired, but no step was taken.
"We've decided to serve Shafiqul Azam Khan a notice, asking him to explain why his membership in the parliament should not be cancelled since he was not qualified for being elected a lawmaker," Election Commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told The Daily Star yesterday over the phone.
He said the EC got a court verdict in favour of the electoral law, disqualifying people holding offices of profit from running for the parliament.
He said the commission had announced mayors of city corporations and municipalities disqualified from contesting in the parliamentary poll in light of the law. But some of the mayors ran for parliament taking advantage of the appellate court's order, he added.
In line with the EC's decision taken on Sunday, commission officials are drafting a notice to be sent to Shafiqul. The notice might be sent to him early next week, the officials said.
The EC's decision was sparked by Speaker Abdul Hamid's continuing delay in responding to a petition filed with him by a voter, seeking to refer the matter of Shafiqul's parliament membership to the commission for disposal, the officials added.
The petition has been with the speaker for three months now, they said.
On May 28, Zakir Hossain, a voter of Moheshpur of Jhenidah district, filed a petition with the speaker's office, requesting him to refer the matter to the EC for a decision.
According to the Members of Parliament (determination of dispute) Act 1980, the speaker was supposed to refer the matter to the EC within a month of receiving the petition.