Tarique Rahman to register as voter on 27 December: Salahuddin
BNP delegation holds meeting with CEC to discuss the procedure
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will register as a voter on 27 December, the party's Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said today (22 December)
He made the announcement after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.
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A three-member BNP delegation met the CEC at his office around 3pm. The delegation, led by Salahuddin, also included Ismail Zabihullah, a member of the BNP Chairperson's Advisory Council, and former acting secretary of the Election Commission Mohammad Zakaria.
According to party sources, the meeting discussed the inclusion of Tarique Rahman's name in the voter list and the conditions under which he could contest the next general election, as he is currently not registered as a voter.
Sources added that the discussions focused on procedural and legal matters concerning voter registration and candidacy requirements ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election, as well as Tarique Rahman's return to Bangladesh on 25 December after a 18-year exile.
Under election rules, following the announcement of the election schedule, both voter registration and eligibility to contest require approval from the Election Commission. The BNP delegation reportedly sought clarity from the commission on these procedures during the meeting.
Speaking to reporters, Salahuddin said the meeting also called for relaxing conditions that are outside the scope of the RPO and for maintaining a conducive electoral environment.
"Under Article 12 of the RPO, a candidate is only required to provide information on criminal cases. However, at present, certified copies of bail orders or order sheets are being demanded, which are not stipulated in the RPO. During the Awami League government's tenure, hundreds of so-called 'fictitious' cases were filed against our political leaders, many of which are difficult even to trace. Therefore, a request was made to accept information in line with the core provisions of the law, without imposing the burden of additional documents," he said.
He also said clarification was sought so that the term "accused" is understood to mean only cases in which charges have been formally framed by a court. Otherwise, candidates may be harassed due to blanket FIRs, he warned.
He added that a technical amendment was proposed regarding the opening of bank accounts for election expenses.
"Usually, agents are appointed after symbols are allocated. To allow candidates to open bank accounts themselves until then, a request was made to consistently include the phrase 'candidate or election agent' in the relevant rules. The commission assured that it would consider the matter seriously," he said.
Responding to journalists' questions on law and order and the electoral environment, Salahuddin said that maintaining law and order is the government's responsibility. He expressed hope for a fair electoral environment and said they had made that appeal to the government.
"The public also wants to vote freely and independently in a festive atmosphere. We hope that the law and order situation will continue to improve," he added.
