BNP aspirant Sabira Sultana’s candidacy in Jashore-2 declared valid

The Election Commission has declared the candidacy of Sabira Sultana, the BNP nominee for the Jashore-2 constituency, valid following an appeal hearing held today (16 January).

The decision came on the seventh day of appeal hearings at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin. 43 appeals from different constituencies were heard during the session.

According to the proceedings, independent candidate Jahurul Islam had filed an appeal challenging Sabira's nomination, citing complications related to a loan taken by her husband. However, no financial institution lodged any formal complaint against Sabira Sultana in connection with the loan.

After conducting hearings in two phases, the commission rejected the appeal and upheld Sabira's candidacy.

During the same session, the EC approved 18 candidacies, rejected 17 appeals, and kept 4 applications pending across 43 constituencies.

Khulna-3 constituency candidate SM Arifur Rahman Mithu was cleared of allegations related to loan default on appeal, restoring his candidacy. However, the application of Mohammad Abdus Shahid from Sylhet-2 was rejected due to the absence of his name and signature.

In Bogura-1, ABM Mostafa Kamal Pasha of Islami Andolan Bangladesh had his candidacy approved after his educational certificates were deemed acceptable. The candidacy of Nur-e-Alam Siddiqui of the same party was also approved after considering issues related to mortgaged land and bank loans. In Sylhet-4, the application of Islami Andolan Bangladesh candidate Maulana Saeed Ahmed was likewise approved.

For Mymensingh-6 and Kishoreganj-2, the candidacy of Md. Abul Basar Rezwan was approved after deficiencies related to the proposer's signature were resolved.

On the other hand, independent candidate Md. Hossainuzzaman in Dhaka-6 lost his candidacy for failing to submit the required signatures of the required one percent of voters. In Chattogram-10, independent candidate Md Yusuf Khan's application was rejected for the same reason, though his candidacy was approved in Brahmanbaria-3.

Decisions regarding Akhtaruzzaman Samrat of Shariatpur-2 and Gono Odhikar Parishad candidate Abul Fazal Mahmudul Haque in Tangail-8 were kept pending due to their absence at the hearing.

In Narsingdi-3, the appeal in the case of Elahi versus Arif Ul Islam Mridha was rejected, while Arif Ul Islam's candidacy was upheld. However, the appeal of another independent candidate, Md. Saddam Hossain was accepted.

In Cox's Bazar-4, the appeal filed by Mohammad Delwar Hossain (Youth Development Officer) against National Democratic Movement candidate Saifuddin Khaled was dismissed, and Saifuddin Khaled's candidacy was declared valid. Similarly, in Sunamganj-3, the appeal in the case of Hussain Ahmed versus Md. Anwar Hossain was rejected, and Anwar Hossain's candidacy was upheld.

Applications of Nurul Islam Milon in Cumilla-8, Zakir Hossain Pradhania in Chandpur-5, and independent candidate Rashedul Islam in Dhaka-5 were rejected.

In Netrokona-2, the candidacy of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan candidate Abdur Rahim was approved.

Among the candidates of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Abdul Hakim in Sirajganj-4, Md. Ashraful Alam in Panchagarh-2, Md. Akkas Ali in Jamalpur-5, Iqbal Hossain in Narayanganj-4, and Moniruzzaman Chandan in Narayanganj-1 had their candidacies approved. However, the application of Md. Kamruzzaman in Rangpur-6 was rejected.

Meanwhile, the applications of independent candidate Md. Azad Chowdhury in Chattogram-8 and BNP candidate Md. Shafiqul Islam in Sirajganj-6 was kept pending. The Election Commission said hearings on these applications will be held on 18 January.

The EC said appeals numbered 511 to 610 will be heard tomorrow (17 January) at the auditorium of the Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka, from 10am to 5pm.