Article 66 Who can and cannot be an MP
Qualifications and disqualifications for election to Parliament
These rules decide who may appear on the ballot. Candidates, parties and voters rely on them when nominations are filed and scrutinised, and a sitting MP can lose a seat if a bar later applies.
A Bangladeshi citizen aged at least 25 wants to contest a constituency. Before filing nomination papers, the person checks whether any bar under clause (2) applies, such as foreign citizenship, insolvency or a qualifying criminal sentence.
The returning officer examines the nomination, affidavits and supporting documents. A candidate who is disqualified, for example by holding an office of profit, or by a two-year sentence for an offence of moral turpitude within five years of release, can have the nomination rejected.
If the candidate has been convicted and sentenced to two years or more, the High Court Division has held that a pending appeal does not lift the bar. Only an appellate court setting aside the conviction restores eligibility.
If, after the election, someone says a sitting MP has become disqualified, or should vacate the seat under Article 70, the matter is referred to the Election Commission. The Commission hears and decides the dispute, and its decision is final under clause (4).
In plain English
How Article 66 works
Article 66 sets out who may be elected to Parliament. You must be a citizen of Bangladesh and at least 25 years old. You are disqualified if a court has declared you of unsound mind, you are an undischarged insolvent, or you hold foreign citizenship or allegiance. A conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude with a sentence of two years or more bars you until five years after release. Other bars include conviction under the 1972 Collaborators Order and holding a paid government post. A Bangladeshi by birth who gives up foreign citizenship is treated as not having acquired it. Disputes about disqualification after election go to the Election Commission, whose decision is final.
In practice
Disqualification under Article 66 is tested mostly at nomination scrutiny and in election petitions. In November 2018 the High Court Division rejected stay petitions by several convicted politicians, holding that a person sentenced to two years or more cannot contest while an appeal is pending; the full text was released in 2023. Dual citizenship is another frequent ground: clause (2A) protects only citizens by birth who renounce foreign citizenship or reaccept Bangladeshi citizenship. Clause (4) gives the Election Commission, not the courts at first instance, the task of deciding post-election disqualification disputes.
The text
What Article 66 says
66. (1) A person shall subject to the provisions of clause (2), be qualified to be elected as, and to be, a member of Parliament if he is a citizen of Bangladesh and has attained the age of twenty-five years.
(2) A person shall be disqualified for election as, or for being, a member of Parliament who –
(a) is declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind;
(b) is an undischarged insolvent;
(c) acquires the citizenship of, or affirms or acknowledges allegiance to, a foreign state;
(d) has been, on conviction for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release; [* * *]
[(e) has been convicted of any offence under the Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) Order, 1972 ;
(f) holds any office of profit in the service of the Republic other than an office which is declared by law not to be disqualified its holder ; or]
(g) is disqualified for such election by or under any law.
...
(4) If any dispute arises as to whether a member of Parliament has, after his election, become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause (2) or as to whether a member of Parliament should vacate his seat pursuant to article 70, the dispute shall be referred to the Election Commission to hear and determine it and the decision of the Commission on such reference shall be final.
...
Key clauses shown. Omitted text is marked with an ellipsis; read the full text on the official site.
English text as published on the official Laws of Bangladesh website. The Bangla text is authoritative (Article 153). Where a court has changed the position, the status note above explains it.
Landmark cases
How the courts have read it
High Court Division · 2018
Wadud Bhuiyan and others v State (stay petitions in criminal appeals)
Interpreting Article 66(2)(d), held that a person sentenced to two years or more cannot contest a parliamentary election merely because an appeal is pending; the sentence cannot be suspended for that purpose.
Case summaries are short descriptions for orientation, not a substitute for the judgment.
History
Amendments
- Fourth Amendment 1975 →Amended, as listed by Banglapedia; the detailed wording could not be checked against the Act text.
- Sixth Amendment 1981 →Amended, as listed by Banglapedia, so that a President or Vice-President elected as a member of Parliament must vacate that office to take the seat, as reported.
- Twelfth Amendment 1991 →Removed the references to the Vice-President and the Deputy Prime Minister from clause (2A) (section 4). Clause (2A) was later substituted by the Fifteenth Amendment.
- Fifteenth Amendment 2011 →Omitted sub-clause (dd), inserted sub-clauses (e) and (f), substituted clause (2A) on dual citizenship and inserted clause (3) on offices of profit.
Connected provisions
Related articles
Questions
Article 66: frequently asked questions
What are the qualifications to become an MP in Bangladesh?
Under Article 66(1), a person must be a citizen of Bangladesh and at least 25 years old. They must also avoid the disqualifications in clause (2), including unsound mind, undischarged insolvency, foreign citizenship, certain criminal sentences and holding an office of profit in the service of the Republic.
Can a person with dual citizenship contest elections in Bangladesh?
Acquiring foreign citizenship disqualifies a person under Article 66(2)(c). However, clause (2A) provides that a citizen by birth who gives up the foreign citizenship, or otherwise again accepts Bangladeshi citizenship, is not treated as having acquired foreign citizenship for this article.
Can a convicted person stand for Parliament while an appeal is pending?
The High Court Division held in 2018 that a person sentenced to two years or more for an offence covered by Article 66(2)(d) cannot contest while an appeal is pending. Eligibility returns only if a court sets the conviction aside, or five years pass after release.
Sources
- Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Article 66 (Laws of Bangladesh)
- The Business Standard: Graft convicts having 2-year jail can't contest polls with pending appeals: HC
This guide explains the Constitution for general understanding. It is not legal advice. Constitutional reform proposals under discussion in 2026 are described as proposals until enacted.
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