The Election Commission has halted voting in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 for the upcoming national elections, citing unresolved boundary complications.
A circular confirming the suspension was issued on Saturday.
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the Commission acted in line with a High Court directive instructing authorities not to conduct any polling activities in the two constituencies until the dispute is resolved.
The issue stems from a boundary reorganisation published in the EC’s final gazette on September 4 last year for the 13th national elections. The gazette placed the entire Santhia upazila under Pabna-1, while Sujanagar and Bera upazilas were grouped into Pabna-2.
Two residents – Zahirul Islam of Bera and Abu Sayeed of Santhia – challenged the validity of the new boundaries in the High Court. After hearings, the court ruled on December 18 that removing four unions and Bera municipality from Pabna-1 and merging them with Pabna-2 exceeded the EC’s legal authority. It ordered the restoration of the previous demarcation and instructed the EC to publish a corrected gazette within 24 hours.
The verdict triggered mixed reactions on the ground, with sweets distributed in Bera and protests reported in Santhia.
In response, the EC issued a revised notification on December 24, restoring Pabna-1 with the entire Santhia upazila, Bera municipality and four unions, while Pabna-2 included the remaining five unions of Bera and all of Sujanagar.
However, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Pabna-1 nominee Mohammad Nazibur Rahman (Najib Momen) and the EC filed separate petitions seeking a stay on the High Court decision. The Appellate Division took up the petitions on December 23.
On January 5, a bench headed by Chief Justice Zubair Rahman Chowdhury suspended the EC’s revised notification, effectively reinstating the previous boundaries once again.
With the legal dispute still unresolved, the EC says voting in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 will remain on hold until further orders.