The country has firmly entered a full-swing election race, as political parties brace for outcomes of the scrutiny of nomination papers that could decisively reshape electoral equations for the 13th parliamentary polls.
The final outcome of the scrutiny, scheduled to conclude on Sunday, is expected to determine not only who remains in the race but also how alliances recali-brate their seat-sharing arrangements amid competing aspirations and internal dissent.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has kept its full attention on the scrutiny process.
Although the party has already reached a seat-sharing understanding with its allies, it fielded backup candidates in several constituencies, including those where Khaleda Zia herself had submitted nomination papers as part of a strategy. The party leadership, however, has made it clear that final candidates will be confirmed only after scrutiny is completed.
“If any leader remains in the race in violation of party decisions, strict organi-sational action will be taken for him/her,” a senior BNP leader told the media on condition of anonymity.
He said the BNP has already expelled nine leaders, including Barrister Rumeen Farhana and Saiful Alam Nirob, for submitting nomination papers in constitu-encies where official party candidates had already been nominated.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance is also await-ing the completion of scrutiny before finalising its seat-sharing arrangement, as dissatisfaction persists among partners over the distribution of seats.
Jamaat insiders said alliance partners submitted nomination papers independently to safeguard their positions but will settle seat sharing after the scrutiny phase.
Talking to the media, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Abdul Halim said discussions with Islami Andolon Bangladesh were ongoing to settle the seat-sharing arrangements.
“Seat sharing with Islami Andolon Bangladesh has not yet been finalised, as they demanded a few additional seats. We have discussed the matter and will reach a decision soon,” he said.
The scrutiny process has already led to the cancellation of several high-profile nominations so far.
Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna’s nomination for Bogura-2 (Shibganj) has been cancelled due to discrepancies in his affidavit, Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner of the district Md Taufiqur Rahman announced on Friday.
The nomination of former Jatiya Party MP Shariful Islam Jinnah was also cancelled in the same constituency for failing to submit a wealth statement with his affidavit.
In Cumilla-1, Cumilla-2 and Cumilla-3 constituencies, nomination papers of 11 candidates, including a Jamaat nominee, were declared invalid, mainly due to forged voter signatures and incomplete affidavits.
In Cumilla-3, Jamaat candidate Yusuf Hakim Sohel’s nomination was can-celled as his affidavit lacked citizenship details and did not clearly mention whether he held dual citizenship.
In three Brahmanbaria constituencies, scrutiny resulted in the cancellation of six independent candidates’ nominations due to failure to meet the requirement of signatures from 1% of voters. All 11 nominations in Brahmanbaria-2, how-ever, were declared valid.
The nominations of BNP Central Committee Economic Affairs Secretary and district BNP President Engineer Khaled Hossain Mahbub Shyamol was declared valid.
In Rangpur, nominations of 14 candidates in two constituencies, including those of Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader and National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhter Hossen, were declared valid. Several others were re-jected due to arrest warrants, outstanding revenue dues, or discrepancies in voter signatures.
According to the EC, candidates from 51 political parties have submitted nom-ination papers for the upcoming election, where BNP leads with 331 candi-dates, followed by Jamaat with 276 and Jatiya Party with 224, Islami Andolon Bangladesh with 268, Gono Odhikar Parishad with 104, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish with 94 and Jatiya Nagorik Party with 44.
In total, 2,090 candidates from political parties and 479 independents have filed nomination papers across 300 constituencies.
A total of 2,569 nomination papers were submitted nationwide, with the highest numbers recorded in Dhaka, Cumilla, and Chattogram regions.
Currently, the number of political parties registered with the EC is 59. The Awami League, whose registration has been suspended, is absent from the race.
Several registered parties, including Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, Trinomul BNP, Krishak Sramik Janata League, Bangladesh National Awami Party (NAP) and Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, did not submit any nominations.
According to the election schedule, scrutiny of nomination papers will continue until tomorrow. After appeals and their disposal, the final deadline for with-drawal of candidatures is 20 January. Party symbols will be allocated on 21 January, and campaigning is expected to begin the following day.
Polling for the 13th parliament election will be held on 12 February from 7:30am to 5:30pm, alongside a referendum on the July National Charter.
Courtesy: Daily Sun.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
