Dr. Tasnim Zara’s nomination for Dhaka-9 rejected

The nomination of independent candidate and former National Citizens Party (NCP) leader Dr. Tasnim Zara for the Dhaka-9 parliamentary seat has been rejected.

The decision was announced around 11:30am by the Dhaka district returning officer on Saturday (January 3) .

According to her submitted affidavit, Dr. Tasnim Zara is a medical doctor with an annual income of BDT 7,13,333 from her profession. She also earns GBP 3,200 from abroad and has paid BDT 34,057 in income tax.

In response, Tasnim Zara has announced that she will appeal to the Election Commission (EC).

Zara said the rejection was based on discrepancies found during the verification of signatures from two voters. “My nomination papers as an independent candidate for Dhaka-9 were not accepted at this stage, but we have already initiated the appeal process,” she said.

She explained that, as per rules, independent candidates must submit signatures from one percent of voters in the constituency. “We submitted about 200 more signatures than required. During verification, the commission checked 10 voters. They confirmed eight, but two signatures were flagged because the voters were reportedly not registered in Dhaka-9. However, neither the voters nor we had any way of knowing their constituency. Both believed they were eligible voters for Dhaka-9 when signing,” she said.

Zara added that the Election Commission does not provide a mechanism for candidates or voters to verify constituency details before submission.

Earlier, on December 27, Tasnim Zara announced her candidacy as an independent for Dhaka-9 following her resignation from the National Citizens Party (NCP). The decision came in the context of an electoral understanding between NCP and Jamaat-e-Islami.