Abdul Baten, an Awami League leader who was in jail at the time of voting, has won the presidency of the Kurigram District Judge Court Law Clerks’ Association by a margin of 69 votes.
The triennial election of the association was held on Thursday, 1 October, with the results announced later that night by the election commission. Baten received 209 votes for the post of president, while his closest rival, Faruk Ahmed, secured 140 votes.
The result came just two days after Baten was arrested by police. According to Kurigram Sadar police, he was detained from the court premises on the evening of Tuesday, 29 September. He was subsequently sent to jail through a court in connection with a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Baten is a law clerk for Abraham Lincoln, a former public prosecutor at the Kurigram Judge Court. He is a resident of Belgachha Union in Kurigram Sadar Upazila and serves as the Awami League president of the union.
Despite his detention before the election, Baten’s panel secured a significant share of the available positions. Of the 14 members elected to the association’s panel, eight candidates backed by Baten won, including Baten himself as president and Atiar Rahman as general secretary.
The general secretary’s contest was also decided by a sizeable margin. Atiar Rahman received 171 votes, compared with 101 votes for his nearest rival, Saifur Rahman. Atiar therefore won by 70 votes.
The association has 362 registered voters. A total of 358 members cast their ballots, indicating a turnout of nearly 99 per cent. The high participation meant that the election produced a clear result across the principal office-bearer positions.
Chief Election Commissioner Advocate Nazrul Islam, who is also a senior vice-president of the Kurigram Bar Association, confirmed the results.
Speaking about Baten’s arrest shortly before polling, Nazrul Islam said he was saddened as an election commissioner by the detention of a candidate before the vote. He also said he did not know why Baten had been arrested.
According to Nazrul Islam, Baten’s arrest may have generated sympathy among voters and contributed to his strong performance. He also pointed to the success of Baten’s wider panel, with eight of its candidates winning positions in the 14-member body.
The circumstances surrounding the election have therefore attracted particular attention. Baten was unable to take part in the final stages of the campaign in person because he had already been sent to jail, yet he won the presidency by a substantial margin.
The result also gives his supported panel a majority presence in the association’s incoming leadership. With the president and general secretary both coming from the same panel, the group will hold several key positions when the new committee begins its term.
The election was conducted to choose the association’s office-bearers for the next three-year term. The voting figures show that the contest for the top positions was closely watched by the members, with only four of the 362 registered voters not casting ballots.
