Dhaka: The Election Commission (EC) today announced that it had initially accepted 119 nomination papers while cancelling 54 others for candidates aiming to contest the upcoming elections from 13 parliamentary constituencies within Dhaka city.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, EC’s returning officer for Dhaka Division and Dhaka’s Divisional Commissioner, Sharaf Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, made the announcement, noting that one nomination paper was kept suspended. Chowdhury highlighted that independent candidates were primarily disqualified due to mismatched signatures of the required one percent of voters, issues of loan defaults, and missing signatures in affidavits.
In contrast, the disqualification of party-backed candidates was mainly due to the absence of signatures from authorized party officials. Chowdhury explained, “The nomination papers were scrapped due to certain reasons which will be conveyed to candidates concerned in writing. The aggrieved persons may appeal against the decision to the Election Commission between January 5 and 9.”
Chowdhury further detailed that the nomination paper of Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Mohammad Ashraful Haque, who intended to contest the polls from Dhaka-18, was suspended as he sought additional time over issues related to his affidavit. He assured that his office had meticulously scrutinized the nomination papers throughout the day to ensure fairness and transparency in the process.