BNP leader Tarique Rahman’s nomination cleared for Dhaka-17 seat

His nomination papers for the Bogura-6 seat were also cleared earlier in the day

Election officials have declared the nomination papers of BNP leader Tarique Rahman valid for the Dhaka-17 constituency in the upcoming 13th parliamentary election.

The decision was announced on Saturday following the scrutiny of nomination papers at the returning officer’s office in Segunbagicha, according to BNP Chairperson's Advisor Abdus Salam.

“We hope that in the election scheduled for the 12th of February, the people of the constituency will elect our leader Tarique Rahman by a large margin,” he said

Tarique's nomination papers were declared valid for the Bogura-6 (Sadar) constituency.

Deputy Commissioner and District Returning Officer Toufikur Rahman said two candidates’ nominations, including Tarique’s, were validated, while the applications of three other candidates were rejected for this seat.

After spending nearly 18 years in exile in the United Kingdom, Tarique returned to the country on Dec 25 with his wife and daughter.

Subsequently, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the BNP acting chief would contest the election from the Dhaka-17 constituency in addition to the Bogra-6 seat.

Following this, on Dec 28, Tarique collected nomination papers for the Dhaka-17 seat.

The deadline for submitting nomination papers for the 13th parliamentary election was Dec 19. The scrutiny process, which began the following day, will continue until Jan 4.

According to the regulations, interested candidates will have the opportunity to appeal if their nomination papers are cancelled. Candidates whose nominations are rejected during scrutiny can file an appeal with the Election Commission within the stipulated timeframe.

Following the resolution of these appeals, the final list of candidates will be published in accordance with the commission's directives.

Per the schedule, the parliamentary election will be held on Feb 12.