HC scraps challenge to partisan municipal polls

A vacation bench of the High Court yesterday dropped from its hearing list a petition that challenged the legality of political parties' participation in municipality elections.

The bench of Justice Quamrul Islam Siddique and Justice Md Badruzzaman excluded the petition saying that the petitioner can move it before a regular bench after reopening of the court.

Eunus Ali Akond -- a Supreme Court lawyer -- who filed the petition on Tuesday, told The Daily Star that he would move it before a regular bench of the HC on January 3 when it will reopen after its ongoing annual vacation.

He submitted the petition challenging the legality of the Local Government (Pourasabha) Amendment Act-2015, which allows candidates to contest in local government elections under the political banner.

In the petition, he said the provisions of the law are contrary to the constitution as its provisions did not permit political parties to run activities in local government polls.

He prayed to the HC to pass a stay order on publishing results of the municipal elections held yesterday.