Bangladeshi SC upholds election ban for convicts

Dhaka : Jailed Bangladeshi ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia suffered a fresh blow on Wednesday as the country's apex court upheld a ban on convicts from running in the general elections slated for December 30.

A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain upheld Tuesday's High Court order that ruled that anyone jailed for more than two years cannot contest elections, reports Xinhua news agency.

Additional Attorney General Murad Reza told journalists that following the apex court order, no convict including Zia will be able to contest the upcoming elections.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Bangladesh Awami League party leaders said the release of Zia from jail was a matter of court's decision.

The country's major opposition alliance led by ex-Prime Minister Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has already decided to contest the parliamentary polls next month.

BNP has been demanding the immediate release of all political prisoners including BNP Chairwoman Zia, who has been in jail since February in a corruption case.