EC disqualifies 150 candidates
Staff Reporter :
Election Commission (EC) has disqualified a total of 150 candidates from the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election following scrutiny, appeals, and hearings.
According to the EC, the disqualifications arose from a variety of issues, including discrepancies in nomination papers, loan defaults, pending criminal cases, dual citizenship, failure to submit required documents, and inability to secure the mandatory one per cent voter support.
Of the 150 disqualified candidates, 98 were independents, while the remainder represented political parties: four Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) nominees, four BNP rebel candidates, one Jamaat-e-Islami nominee, 21 Jatiya Party candidates, and 22 from other parties.
Notable BNP candidates disqualified include Munjurul Ahsan Munshi (Comilla-4), TS Ayub (Jessore-4), Sarwar Alamgir (Chittagong-2), and Abdul Gafur Bhuiyan (Comilla-10). Among BNP rebels, Md Shafiqul Islam (Sirajganj-6) and Md Mofiqul Hasan Tripti (Jessore-1) were affected.
Dr AKM Fazlul Haque (Chittagong-9) was the lone Jamaat-e-Islami nominee disqualified. Key Jatiya Party candidates removed after appeal hearings include Mohammad Israfil Mia (Gazipur-2) and SM Abdul Mannan (Manikganj-2).
Despite these cancellations, the EC validated candidacies for prominent leaders such as BNP Vice-Chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo (Feni-3) and Aslam Chowdhury (Chattogram-4) after appeal hearings.
The Commission rejected challenges against Mintoo, including one from the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Mohammad Fakhruddin Manik, and upheld Chowdhury’s nomination after reviewing objections raised by rival parties.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin dismissed allegations of bias in the EC’s decision-making.
“Many may criticize us, but we did not show any bias while hearing appeals against returning officers’ decisions,” he said, noting that flexibility was exercised regarding the one per cent voter support requirement for independent candidates.
The administrative phase saw 3,406 nomination papers collected, of which 2,568 were submitted.
After initial scrutiny, 723 were rejected and 1,842 deemed valid. Dhaka recorded the highest number of rejections (133), while Barishal saw the fewest (31).
Between December 30 and January 4, 645 appeals were filed, and after nine days of hearings, 414 candidacies were restored, bringing the total number of valid candidates to 2,257.
Election activities in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies were postponed due to boundary issues.
The EC revised the schedule, allowing submission of nomination papers until January 18, scrutiny on January 19, appeal hearings between January 20-25, and publication of the final candidate list on January 27.
Voting in these constituencies will still occur on February 12.
Despite EC assurances of fairness, some parties, including Jatiya Party, plan legal challenges. Secretary General Shamim Haider Patwary confirmed the party will file writ petitions for candidates whose appeals were rejected.
With the conclusion of the appeal phase, the EC is now moving toward the withdrawal of candidacies and allocation of electoral symbols, completing preparations for what is expected to be a highly contested parliamentary election.