Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur's nomination cancelled in Cox's Bazar-2

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad's nomination has been cancelled in the Cox's Bazar-2 (Moheshkhali–Kutubdia) constituency.

Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Md Abdul Mannan announced the decision this evening (2 January) after scrutiny of nomination papers.

Citing a source at the deputy commissioner's office, Prothom Alo reported that Hamidur Rahman's nomination was cancelled as he allegedly concealed information about an ongoing contempt of court case against him.

However, he will have the opportunity to appeal the decision seeking restoration of his candidacy.

A total of 23 candidates have submitted nomination papers across Cox's Bazar's four parliamentary constituencies, representing the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiyo Party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlis, and independent contenders.

In Cox's Bazar-2 alone, seven candidates filed nomination papers. Of them, the nominations of Jamaat candidate Hamidur and independent aspirant Golam Mawla have been cancelled.

As a result, the number of valid candidates in the constituency now stands at five. They are BNP's Alamgir Muhammad Mahfuz Ullah Farid, Islami Andolan's Ziaul Haque, Khelafat Majlis's Obaidul Qader Nadvi, Gono Odhikar Parishad's SM Roknuzzaman Khan, and Jatiyo Party's Md Mahmudul Karim.

According to the revised election schedule announced by the Election Commission, scrutiny of nomination papers by returning officers will continue until 4 January.

Appeals against scrutiny decisions can be filed from 5 to 9 January, with appeals to be disposed of between 10 and 18 January.

The deadline for withdrawal of candidature is 20 January, while electoral symbols will be allocated on 21 January.

The 13th national parliamentary election and the referendum are scheduled to be held on 12 February.