Ex-NCP leader Tajnuva Jabeen begins refunding election donations
Tajnuva disclosed that out of the total Tk8,77,112 received in donations, more than half has been returned to the donors
Tajnuva Jabeen, who recently resigned as joint convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has started returning campaign donations to her supporters, revealing that she has already refunded approximately 57% of the total funds collected.
In a social media update posted early today (15 January), Jabeen disclosed that out of the total Tk8,77,112 received in donations, more than half has been returned to the donors.
The move follows her decision on 28 December to withdraw from the upcoming national election and exit the NCP in protest over the party's "engineered" alliance with the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
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Jabeen, who was originally slated to contest the Dhaka-17 constituency, stated that while most traceable donors — particularly those who contributed via bKash in amounts ranging from Tk1,000 to 10,000 — have been reimbursed, challenges remain in identifying rest of the contributors to the crowd fund.
"To return the rest of the funds, especially those in bank accounts, I need the donors' cooperation to trace them," she wrote.
She also noted that expatriate donors who sent remittances would need to provide local accounts to facilitate the refunds. To streamline the process, she has shared a digital form for those who have yet to receive their money.
Reflecting on the refund process, Jabeen expressed gratitude for the emotional support she has received from her backers.
"I have spoken to many people while returning the donations. I haven't found a single person who demanded their money back; instead, everyone offered their best wishes and encouraged me to move forward," she wrote.
"I am grateful to all of you. Time will tell how much I can achieve. InshaAllah," her post concluded.
The resignation of Jabeen, alongside other prominent leaders like Tasnim Jara, followed a formal objection by 30 NCP leaders against a seat-sharing deal with a Jamaat-led eight-party alliance.
Jabeen had previously criticised the process as a "carefully engineered" plan that effectively barred many NCP aspirants from contesting the polls by delaying alliance announcements until the final hour.
Despite her departure from the NCP and her withdrawal from the current electoral race, Jabeen reaffirmed her commitment to the political landscape.
