BNP calls on Chief Justice to protect judicial sanctity after controversial SCBA polls

The BNP has called upon the Chief Justice to protect the sanctity of the legal arena following the controversial Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election.

The party alleged that the ruling Awami League has put the last nail in the coffin of the electoral system of the country by holding a lopsided SCBA election using police and outsiders.

"Farce has been done in the name of election which is scandalous not only for the lawyers but for the nation. The Chief Justice will surely come forward to protect the sanctity of the judicial arena," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan central office on Friday.

"The Awami League has turned into such a bankrupt party politically that it has to use police and outsiders to announce its candidates as winners in the SCBA election. It is a matter of great shame," he added.

The BNP also demanded that the SCBA election be annulled and fresh polls be held instead.

Voting took place on Wednesday and Thursday amid the ruckus, violence, clashes, police action, and the allegations of ballot theft and tearing.

Fakhrul said their party thinks the SCBA polls have exposed once again that the Awami League is a "master" at vote rigging.

"Like all other elections in the country, Awami League has unilaterally interfered in the bar elections. The election of the Supreme Court Bar Association was destroyed by the use of the police force in a medieval manner. This is another step towards making Bangladesh a failed state," Fakhrul added.

According to the constitution, judiciary, law, and executive departments should be independent, said the BNP leader, adding, "But when the judiciary is tarnished, when its effectiveness is destroyed, there is a fear that people's trust in the state will decrease."

Mirza Fakhrul further said Bangladesh is not a truly effective democratic state and that all institutions have been systematically destroyed. An example of this is the case of the Supreme Court, he said.

If the judiciary also works like this, people will not get justice, noted the BNP leader and said, "Those who are senior lawyers, judges, how are they silent?"

He said, "Fair elections are not possible under the Awami League because they will declare their candidates winners by force. We think that the mask of Awami League, which has been involved in vote robbery, was revealed once again in the context of Supreme Court Bar Association elections."

Fakhrul called upon all concerned to come forward to protect the country and its institutions. "We have been saying repeatedly that Bangladesh is no longer a democratic state as the Awami League government is destroying all democratic institutions in the country in a planned way."

Taiful Islam Tipu, assistant secretary of BNP, and the party chief's press wing member Shamsuddin Didar were present at the press conference.