Tarique's voter status: EC’s decision today
Staff Reporter :
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has completed all formalities required to be registered as a voter, but his official inclusion in the voter list will depend on a decision by the Election Commission on Sunday.
Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said on Saturday that the documents related to Tarique Rahman’s voter registration would be placed before the commission on December 28, after which a final decision would be taken.
Speaking to reporters after Tarique Rahman left the Election Training Institute (ETI) building, Akhtar Ahmed said both Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman had submitted their voter registration applications and completed the full registration process.
“Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the BNP, and his daughter
Zaima Rahman have both submitted their voter registration forms today and completed the registration process here,” he said.
He added that under Section 15 of the Voter List Act 2009, the Election Commission has the authority to register any adult eligible to vote.
“In line with that provision, they have applied to be registered as voters of Ward 19 under the Dhaka-17 constituency,” he said.
According to the EC secretary, the process completed on Saturday involved submitting Form-2, which includes photographs and biometric information such as fingerprints and iris scans.
“They have formally applied to be included in the voter list. The matter will be placed before the commission tomorrow, and once the commission makes a decision, their names will be added to the voter list,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Tarique Rahman and Zaima Rahman completed their registration formalities at the ETI in Agargaon. Zaima Rahman arrived at the ETI around 12:26pm accompanied by her mother, Zubaida Rahman, and left shortly before 1:00pm. Tarique Rahman arrived around 1:00pm and left about 15 minutes later.
National Identity Registration Wing Director General ASM Humayun Kabir said both applicants had already filled in their forms online and came to the ETI only to complete biometric verification.
“The software will automatically search the central server to check whether the information matches any existing records,” he said.
“If no match is found, a national identity number will be generated within five to 24 hours. This process is fully automated.”
He added that registered voters can collect their NID details directly from the authorities or download them after receiving a notification on their mobile phones.
Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh with his family on December 25, after 17 years in exile.
BNP had earlier announced that he would register as a voter on Saturday. The party has already nominated him as its candidate for the Bogura-6 constituency.
Election officials said that to contest a parliamentary seat, a candidate only needs to be registered as a voter in any constituency.
Tarique Rahman was unable to be included in the photo-based voter list prepared in 2007-08 due to circumstances at the time.
After his release from prison in 2008, he travelled to London for medical treatment and remained abroad for many years without obtaining a national identity card.
Following political changes after the July 2024 uprising, his wife Zubaida Rahman returned to Bangladesh and registered as a voter earlier this year at an address in Gulshan-2 under Dhaka North City Corporation.
The next general election is scheduled for February 12. Nomination papers must be submitted by December 29, making voter registration a prerequisite ahead of the deadline.
Before arrival at the ETI building, the entire area was covered under the blanket of strict security to ensure the safety of Tarique Rahman.
After prayers at the grave of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi at the premises of Dhaka University Central Mosque, a motorcade carried him to the ETI building.
The motorcade was moving slowing as security forces were around the vehicles.
Apart from it, thousands of leaders and workers of BNP and curious people were also moving with the motorcade. The movement of other vehicles was suspended for some time.