Manna regains candidacy in Bogura-2

Nagorik Oikko president Mahmudur Rahman Manna has regained his candidacy in the Bogura-2, Shibganj constituency after winning an appeal at the Election Commission, EC.

On Sunday, January 11, the commission upheld his appeal and declared his nomination paper valid.

Manna’s lawyer, Syed Mamun Mahbub, confirmed the decision to journalists after the hearing.

Earlier, the returning officer had cancelled Manna’s nomination during scrutiny in Bogura-2, prompting him to appeal to the EC.

Speaking to reporters at the Election Building after the verdict, Mahmudur Rahman Manna said he had contested elections from Bogura before and described the mobocracy used to oppose his candidacy as a very ominous sign.

He said the district administration was shaken by the situation and sent the matter to the EC, adding that otherwise there had been no reasonable ground to cancel his nomination.

He also said the Election Commission had shown its integrity.

A former Awami League leader and twice vice-president of DUCSU, Mahmudur Rahman Manna has contested several parliamentary elections in the past but never entered parliament. In this election, he has the backing of the BNP, which has left the Bogura-2 seat to him as an allied party candidate.