Former prime minister and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia was convicted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine in a graft case by a Special Tribunal in Dhaka on Thursday. With the Bangladesh general election slated to be held in January next year, this raises the question of whether the BNP chairperson will be eligible to participate in the polls. As a result, Khaleda Zia’s sentence of five years imprisonment would at face value suggest that she will be ineligible to participate in the national election. If the appeals court (here the High Court Division) allows the application and suspends sentence, then there will be no bar against her competing in the forthcoming national election. After the appeal is admitted by the higher court and lower court records are requested, then the application for bail for the appellant may proceed.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 09, 2018 16:07 UTC