An election inquiry committee for Feni-3 constituency (Daganbhuiyan and Sonagazi upazila) severed a show-cause notice to Jatiya Party (JaPa) candidate Lt Gen (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury for breaching the electoral code of conduct.
Feni Joint District and Sessions Judge and inquiry committee Chairman Khairunnessa issued the notice asking him to reply in writing to the committee in person at 3pm on Friday.
According to Section 7(3) of the Political Parties and Candidates Conduct Rules 2008, a candidate cannot print any photo or symbol of any person other than his or her own photo on the election poster or banner.
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rules (3) and (4) of the Code of Conduct 2008, if a contesting candidate is nominated by a registered political party, he or she can only print the photo of the current party chief.
On Tuesday afternoon, the JaPa candidate used a photo of Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on a banner at a views exchange meeting at Sonagazi Upazila.
The Awami League candidate for Sadar Upazila, Nizam Uddin Hazari, who was present on the occasion as the chief guest, sought votes for Masud, who is contesting with the Plough symbol.
In the banner, a small photo of JaPa’s Chairman, GM Quader, was used, while there was a big photo of Sheikh Hasina.
Several media agencies reported on the violation of the electoral code of conduct on Wednesday.
Later, the election inquiry committee informed about the matter and issued the show-cause notice on Thursday.
Abul Bashar, the Awami League's candidate, was first chosen for the seat but subsequently withdrew, and Masud was ultimately chosen for the race.