A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking suspension of the schedule for the presidential election and challenging the validity of Article 70 of the Constitution.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Yunus Ali Akand filed the petition on Thursday. The writ questions the constitutional validity of Article 70, which requires lawmakers elected as candidates of a political party to vacate their parliamentary seats if they resign from the party or vote against it in Parliament.
The petitioner argues that the provision prevents lawmakers from exercising their independent judgment in parliamentary votes, thereby restricting their democratic rights. On these grounds, he has sought the court’s intervention to suspend the ongoing presidential election process.
Meanwhile, Thursday is the last day for submitting nomination papers for the country’s 23rd presidential election. According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, nominations can be submitted from 10am to 4pm.
The Election Commission Secretariat has already issued a gazette notification outlining the election schedule. Chief Election Commissioner A.M.M. Nasir Uddin has been appointed as the “election officer” for the presidential election.
Under the schedule, nomination papers will be scrutinised on August 16, while the deadline for withdrawing candidacies is August 18. Voting is scheduled to take place on August 20.
The filing of the writ challenging Article 70 in the midst of the presidential election process has sparked renewed legal and political debate over the election.
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