With the deadline for submitting nomination papers for the upcoming national election falling on Monday, nearly 99 percent of aspirants who collected the forms have yet to file them as they are waiting for the last day.
“A total of 2,780 nomination papers were collected to contest the election from the country’s 300 constituencies and only 31 papers were submitted till 2:30pm on Sunday,” said Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Sunday evening.
The deadline for the submission of nomination papers will expire at 5:00pm on Monday, said EC officials.
Md Yunus Ali, the returning officer for Dhaka-13 and Dhaka-15 constituencies, said a total of 29 nomination papers were collected in the two constituencies, but only three papers were submitted till Sunday. “Most of the nomination papers will be submitted tomorrow (the last day),” he said.
The EC on December 11 last announced the schedule to arrange the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order simultaneously on February 12 next.
According to the election schedule, the deadline for the submission of nomination papers is December 29, while the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is January 20. The election campaign will start on January 22 and continue till 48 hours before the balloting period (7:30am on February 10).
Submission of Dependents’ Tax Information Optional
The Election Commission on Sunday clarified that providing the income tax information of an aspirant’s spouse, children and dependents in the nomination form would be considered as optional.
The EC issued the clarification in a letter sent to 69 returning officers, including two divisional commissioners, three regional election officers, and 64 district deputy commissioners, hours after a demand for clarification from BNP.
“Regarding income tax information in serial 10 of the affidavit: providing the income tax related information of the spouse, children, and dependents mentioned in columns 2, 3, and 4 of the income tax return section shall be considered optional,” the commission said in the letter.
The Commission, however, said the statement of the sources of income, assets, and liabilities of fully dependent family members, which are mentioned in the serials 6 and 7 of the affidavit, must be submitted as this requirement is in accordance with the Clause 12(3)(ka)(c) of the Representation of the People Order (RPO), 1972.
The clarification came after a three-member delegation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, met Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Sunday to raise concerns about the provision.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Nazrul Islam Khan said although the Representation of the People Order (RPO) does not mention children, the nomination form requires aspirants to submit income tax details of their children, which has created widespread confusion.
“There is a question everywhere because many candidates’ children are not dependent on them. Many are self-earning, some live abroad, and many pay taxes independently. This has created complexity, which is why we wrote to the Election Commission and also discussed the matter today,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Sunday incorporated BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman in the country’s voter list to be used in the February-12 election.
“They (Tarique Rahman and Zaima Rahman) have been included in the voter list that will be used in the February-12 elections,” EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told UNB on Sunday evening.
Earlier in the day, the Commission approved the inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls, a day after Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman completed the necessary process for National Identity Card (NID) registration and voter enlistment.
They went to the Election Commission’s National Identity office in the city to complete their NID registration and enlist them as a voter. Their biometric data and photographs were taken in the NID office. Besides, the Election Commission asked the Home Ministry to recover illegal arms, prepare level-playing field, provide security to election offices and materials, containing misinformation and disinformation.
“In order to conduct the elections in a fair and peaceful manner, it is necessary to recover illegal arms from the electoral area; maintain communal harmony and provide security to minorities; plan for the deployment of law and order forces; formulate an advance budget for the deployment of law and order forces; control illegal infiltrators and prepare a level playing field for the elections; provide security for postal ballot transportation and storage sites; prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation; and provide clearance and security for foreign observers and journalists on the occasion of their arrival in Bangladesh,” says the letter sent on Saturday.
the letter, the EC also drew attention to take necessary measures to ensure security in the transportation, storage and distribution of election materials, take effective measures to ensure the security of the office of the Returning Officer and all field-level election-related departments, and plan to deploy law enforcement forces at polling stations on election day and in the election area a few days before the election to maintain overall peace and order.
Besides, the EC also sent letters to the Cabinet Division, the Foreign Ministry, the Local Government Division, the Information and Broadcasting, the Posts and Telecommunications Division and the Cultural Affairs Ministry asking them to take necessary measures on different election activities.