Attorney General Can Contest for Election Without Resigning, says Asaduzzaman. Bangladesh’s Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman has said there is no constitutional barrier preventing an attorney general from contesting elections while still in office.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday (November 6) after the state’s appeal hearing on the caretaker-government issue, Asaduzzaman explained that the attorney general is not a government employee but a constitutional legal representative of the state under Article 64.
“The attorney general is not a government servant. It is not a government job post,” he said. “There is no restriction on an attorney general running for office — even while holding the position.”
He added that the attorney general’s duty is to represent the state, not the government:
“As long as I hold this post, I am the state’s lawyer. If any government action harms the interests of the state, the attorney general can stand against it.”
His comments come a day after he announced his resignation from the post to contest the upcoming national election as a BNP parliamentary candidate. When asked on Wednesday (November 5) whether he intends to run for the Jhenaidah-1 constituency, he said he would contest after formally stepping down at the appropriate time.
Asked if his BNP nomination was confirmed, he replied, “I am optimistic — one hundred percent.”
Asaduzzaman was appointed Attorney General on August 5 last year, following the political shift in the country. Before that, he served as the BNP’s central human rights affairs secretary.
