BNP-backed panel sweeps SCBA polls

The BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Panel, popularly known as the Blue Panel, has swept the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election, winning 13 of the 14 posts, including president and secretary.

Azim Uddin Patwari of the Lawyers’ Unity Panel, or Green Panel, backed by Jamaat-e-Islami, won an executive member post.

According to the results, AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon of the Blue Panel was elected president with 2,984 votes, defeating Abdul Baten of the Green Panel, who secured 788 votes.

Khokon was elected SCBA president for the second time.

Mohammad Ali of the Blue Panel was elected secretary with 2,582 votes, while his rival AKM Rezaul Karim Khondaker of the Green Panel got 786 votes.

Voting was held on May 13 and 14 from 10:00am to 5:00pm, with a one-hour break.

Counting began around 10:00pm after polling ended. Senior lawyer and retired High Court judge Md Miftah Uddin Choudhury, convener of the election management subcommittee, announced the results around 2:00am yesterday at the SCBA auditorium.

The annual election is held to choose the association’s 14-member executive committee, comprising one president, two vice-presidents, one secretary, one treasurer, two assistant secretaries, and seven executive members.

From the Blue Panel, Md Magfur Rahman Sheikh and Md Shahjahan became vice-presidents, while Md Ziaur Rahman won the post of treasurer.

Md Maksud Ullah and Mohammad Shamsul Islam Mukul bagged the positions of assistant secretary.

Of the seven executive member posts, Blue Panel candidates won six: HM Shanjid Siddique, AKM Azad Hossain, Wahid Afroz Chowdhury, Md Kabir Hossain, Md Zia Uddin Mia, and Md Tipu Sultan.

Azim Uddin of the Green Panel secured a post as an executive member.

A total of 40 candidates contested the 14 posts this year. Of the 11,097 registered voters, 4,048, or around 36 percent, cast their ballots in the SCBA executive committee election for the 2026-2027 term.

Although the association’s election is officially non-partisan, panels are traditionally formed by lawyers aligned with political parties.

In previous years, contests were mainly held between BNP-backed lawyers, known as the Blue Panel, and Awami League-backed lawyers, known as the White Panel.

However, at a special general meeting of the association on April 26, members decided that AL-backed lawyers would not be allowed to take part in the polls following the ban on the party’s political activities.

For the first time in the association’s history, AL-backed lawyers did not contest the election.

Around 200 lawyers aligned with the AL have been unable to contest at least 13 bar association elections since January, according to members of lawyers’ associations across the country. 

Though many attempted to run as independent candidates, they were reportedly barred from collecting or submitting nomination papers, or had their nominations cancelled by election commissions.

Sources at the Bangladesh Bar Council said elections have so far been held in at least 40 of the country’s 83 bar associations since January 25 this year.

In this year’s SCBA polls, candidates from the BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Panel, the Jamaat-backed Lawyers’ Unity Panel, and the National Lawyers’ Alliance, or Red-Green Panel, backed by the National Citizen Party, took part.

The Blue and Green panels fielded candidates for all 14 posts, while the Red-Green Panel nominated candidates for six posts. Several independent candidates also contested.

However, no SCBA election was held last year.

In 2024, some 5,319 of the 7,888 voters cast their ballots in the SCBA election, putting the turnout at 67 percent.

In 2023, a total of 4,137 of the 8,589 voters cast ballots, meaning the turnout was 48 percent.