People jailed for more than than two years cannot contest elections. (Representational)
A Bangladesh court today ruled that people who have been jailed for more than two years with their appeals pending, cannot contest the December 30 general elections.
The order was passed in response to an appeal seeking a stay order on the imprisonment of five opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders: Amanullah Aman, AZM Zahid Hossain, Wadud Bhuiyan, Md Moshiur Rahman and Md Abdul Wahab, reports bdnews24.
As per the Constitution, if a person is sentenced to more than two years in prison, he or she will not be able to participate in elections until an Appellate Division rejects or suspends the verdict, according to the court observation.
Today's ruling will prevent BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from contesting the upcoming election as she was awarded a 17-year jail term in two graft cases.