No scope for Khaleda Zia to contest next nat’l election: Law Minister

 National Desk //

Law Minister Anisul Huq today (October 10, 2022) said there is no scope for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to contest the next parliamentary election under relevant laws as she has been convicted and sentenced in two separate corruption cases.

“If the law permits, she [Khaleda] can participate in the election and if the law does not permit, she cannot take part in the election. However, I think she cannot take part in the next election as per the law. As per Article 66 (2)(d) of the Constitution, a person shall be disqualified for election as, or for being, a member of Parliament, who has been convicted for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, or sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release,” he said.

He said this while replying to queries from media personnel after attending as chief guest to the inauguration of a training course organised for the assistant judges at Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI) in Dhaka.

Khaleda landed in jail on February 8, 2017, after being sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a special court in Dhaka in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. On October 30 the following year, the High Court enhanced her punishment to 10 years after dismissing her appeal in the case.

The former prime minister was convicted by another special court in Dhaka in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case on October 29, 2018. She was sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment by the court.

Khaleda was freed from jail on March 25, 2020 after the government suspended her jail sentence for six months. Khaleda is now in her Gulshan home, as the government last month (September) extended the suspension of her jail sentence for another six months.