Mamunul Haque Challenges Dhaka-13 Election Results in High Court

On Wednesday, March 11, 2026, a petition was scheduled for hearing before a single-member High Court bench led by Justice Md. Zakir Hossain. Mamunul Haque, the Emir of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, has alleged widespread irregularities and is seeking a recount or a cancellation of the declared results.

According to the official results released following the February 12 polls, Bobby Hajjaj, the candidate representing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) with the "Sheaf of Paddy" symbol, was declared the winner. Hajjaj secured 88,387 votes, while his nearest rival, Mamunul Haque, received 86,067 votes. The narrow margin of defeat—just 2,320 votes—has been the primary focus of Haque’s legal challenge. He contends that approximately 2,300 votes were intentionally canceled or omitted, which directly impacted the final outcome.

Mamunul Haque’s legal team argued that they had initially approached the Returning Officer for a remedy but were forced to move to the High Court after failing to receive a satisfactory response. The petitioner claims that in many centers, results sheets were prepared without the signatures of his polling agents, and that the rejected ballots were cast in his favor but were dismissed on technical grounds. As the first session of the 13th Parliament is set to begin tomorrow, March 12, the court’s decision on this petition is being closely watched by political analysts and supporters of both alliances.