A new legal complication has emerged surrounding the 2026–2028 election of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), with the FBCCI Arbitration Tribunal declaring several decisions of the association’s Election Board and Appeal Board invalid. The tribunal also declared the final voter list published on June 12, 2026, illegal.

On Tuesday (July 21), a three-member tribunal comprising FBCCI Arbitration Tribunal Chairman Nasrin Begum and members A.S.M. Kamal Uddin and Chhayad Ahmed delivered judgments in Case Nos. 4/2026 and 5/2026.

The tribunal declared unlawful the decisions to cancel the nominations of immediate past president Abdus Salam Aref, immediate past secretary general Afsia Jannat Saleh, former vice-president Ziaur Rahman Khan Rezwan and immediate past deputy secretary general Idris Mia.

The tribunal observed that under the Trade Organisations Act, 2022, the cancellation of an executive committee through an administrative order cannot be considered equivalent to the completion of its term. As the relevant committee had not completed its full 24-month term, there was no legal basis to declare the former leaders ineligible for election by applying Rule 18(4) of the Trade Organisations Rules, 2025.

The ruling also identified serious irregularities in the proceedings of the Appeal Board. According to the tribunal’s observations, one member signed a subsequent order despite not being present at the hearing. The designations of the members were also incorrectly mentioned in copies of the order. The ruling said these issues were established through a review of CCTV footage and photographs.

Referring to the principle “He who hears must decide,” the tribunal said the person who attends a hearing must also be the one authorised to make the decision. Signing an order without participating in the hearing is contrary to the principles of natural justice and transparency, it observed.

The ruling also found merit in allegations of irregularities in the voter list. According to the tribunal, individuals holding cancelled licences, multiple representatives from the same organisation and ordinary employees of organisations had been included in the voter list. At the same time, 46 valid members had been denied voting rights.

For these reasons, the FBCCI Arbitration Tribunal declared the final voter list published on June 12 invalid and unlawful.

The ruling has created fresh uncertainty over ATAB’s upcoming election. Discussions have begun among members over how the election process will proceed and what steps the organisation will take in light of the tribunal’s directives.