NCP candidate Monira Sharmin's nomination suspended

The Election Commission has suspended the candidature of National Citizen Party (NCP) Joint Convener Monira Sharmin for the reserved women's seats in the National Parliament and ordered her to submit required documents by Thursday noon.

The EC announced the decision during the first day of scrutiny of nomination papers for reserved women's seats at the Election Building in Agargaon, capital, on Wednesday, April 22. On the first day, nomination papers of 13 candidates from 11 political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and NCP, were scrutinised. While Monira's application was kept pending, the nomination papers of the remaining 12 candidates were declared valid.

Speaking to the media after the scrutiny, Returning Officer and EC Joint Secretary Moin Uddin Khan said, "We scrutinised 13 nomination papers, of which 12 have been declared valid. The decision on one nomination has been kept pending. She has been given until 12:00 pm tomorrow to submit the necessary documents."

The Returning Officer further informed that Monira Sharmin's submitted documents mention a government pay scale. She has been asked to explain this matter.

According to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), a person cannot contest parliamentary elections until three years have passed after resigning or retiring from government service.

While Monira Sharmin's direct comment could not be obtained, her party's top leaders claim she had resigned from her position at Krishi Bank before it was made permanent. Therefore, they argue the RPO's three-year restriction should not apply in her case.