Appellate Division Suspends EC Decision, Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 Elections to Be Held on Original Boundaries on February 12

The Appellate Division has suspended the Election Commission’s (EC) January 6 decision to postpone elections in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 for the 13th National Parliamentary Election. According to the order, elections in these two constituencies will be held on February 12 based on the EC’s September 4, 2025 gazette on constituency boundaries.

The decision came after a leave-to-appeal (LTA) petition filed by a candidate from Pabna-1 challenging the High Court’s earlier verdict. The four-member bench, led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, issued the ruling on Thursday.

On September 4, 2025, the EC had published a gazette finalizing the boundaries: Pabna-1 would cover all of Santhia Upazila, while Pabna-2 would include Sujanagar and Bera Upazilas. According to senior counsel Imran A Siddique, the LTA petition was accepted, suspending the High Court ruling. As a result, elections in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 will proceed on the original boundaries specified in the September 4 gazette, and the EC’s amended gazette published on December 24, 2025, along with the January 6 office order postponing elections, are also suspended until the appeal is resolved.

The legality of these boundary changes was challenged in the High Court by Zahirul Islam (resident of Bera Upazila) and Abu Saeed (resident of Santhia Upazila). After the High Court issued a rule in September and delivered a final verdict on December 18, it declared the EC’s modification of Pabna-1 by excluding four unions and the municipality of Bera Upazila as unlawful. The court also instructed the EC to restore the two constituencies to their previous boundaries as per the June 1, 2023 gazette and publish it within 24 hours.

Following this, the EC issued a revised notification on December 24, reinstating Pabna-1 with all of Santhia Upazila and Bera municipality plus four unions of Bera, and Pabna-2 with the remaining five unions of Bera and the whole Sujanagar Upazila.

After the High Court ruling, both the EC and Mohammad Nazibur Rahman, the Jamaat-e-Islami-nominated candidate in Pabna-1 (represented by lawyer Nazib Momen), filed separate appeals with the Appellate Division. On January 5, the division suspended the December 24 revised notification and restored the original boundaries until the leave-to-appeal process was complete.

Senior lawyer Imran A Siddique represented Nazib Momen during the hearing. On the state side, Additional Attorney Generals Arshadur Rouf and Anik A. Haque, along with EC lawyer A B M Imdadul Haque Khan, participated. Lawyers H M Sanjid Siddiqui represented the petitioners. Following today’s hearing, the appellate bench granted leave to appeal, ensuring that the elections in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 will be held on the original boundaries on February 12.