Court Prohibits Khaleda Zia from Fighting Election in Bangladesh
In her 35 years political career, Khaleda Zia has been jailed several times. During the tenure of army-backed caretaker government between 2007-2008, she was in jail for about one year on charges of corruption.
Recently Bangladesh top court has ruled that a person, who is jailed for more than two years, cannot contest any election, thereby ruining the dreams of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to participate in the general election in the country scheduled for December 30th this year.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has declared, “Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, who is convicted in two graft cases, is disqualified from taking part in the upcoming elections”. The statement came hours after High Court issued a rule saying a person who is jailed for more than two years and even if their appeals are pending in the courts, cannot contest the polls.
At the time of the verdict, no lawyer for Zia and other accused of the case were present in the courtroom. The bench did not say anything about other convicts in the case as they did not file any kind appeal and are declared absconding.
The 73-year-old former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia is presently serving jail terms in two graft cases involving charities named after her late husband Zia-ur Rahman. She has been in the police custody since February 8, after Dhaka Special Court has convicted her in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case and sentenced her to five years of imprisonment for embezzling with 21 million Bangladeshi Taka or $252,504 in foreign donations, which are meant for the Trust.
On October 30, the High Court doubled her jail term to 10 years after a trial court found her guilty in another case involving the Zia Charitable Trust graft case and sentenced her to seven years in prison and imposed a fine of one million taka or $12,024.
The High Court order came at a time when Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh National Party (BNP), was preparing to contest the polls in alliance with the newly formed National Unity Front led by Kamal Hossain. The BNP has boycotted the 2014 general elections in Bangladesh. The latest court ruling comes as a blow to Zia, who was hoping to run against incumbent Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina in the general elections.
Khaleda Zia becomes the vice chairperson of the BNP in March 1983 after the assassination of her husband Zia-ur Rahman. In May 1984, She became the chairperson of the party, the post she still holds. In her 35 years political career, Khaleda Zia has been jailed several times. During the tenure of army-backed caretaker government between 2007-2008, she was in jail for about one year on charges of corruption.