Nomination papers of 35 candidates declared valid in Sylhet, seven cancelled and five suspended

Returning officers have completed scrutiny of nomination papers in Sylhet district ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election, declaring seven nominations cancelled and five suspended due to various irregularities.

District returning officer and Sylhet deputy commissioner Md Sarwar Alam disclosed the information on Saturday, January 3, after the scrutiny process. He said a total of 47 candidates submitted nomination papers in six constituencies of the district, of which 35 were declared valid.

He said the decisions were taken due to issues including dual citizenship, loan default status, and irregularities in the required signatures of one percent of voters for independent candidates. Suspended candidates have been asked to submit the necessary documents by 1:00 pm on Sunday, January 4, after which final decisions will be made.

According to the returning office, in Sylhet-1 constituency, the nomination of National Citizen Party candidate Ehteshamul Haque was suspended as he failed to provide proof of renouncing his UK citizenship.

In Sylhet-2, the nominations of two independent candidates, Abrar Elias, son of missing BNP leader Ilias Ali, and Abdus Shahid, were cancelled due to discrepancies in voter signatures. BNP candidate Tahsina Rushdi Luna’s nomination in the same constituency was declared valid.

In Sylhet-3, BNP candidate MA Malik’s nomination was suspended over incomplete dual citizenship information, while the nominations of independent candidates Mostakim Raja Chowdhury and Mainul Bakar were cancelled due to signature irregularities.

In Sylhet-4, the nomination of Islami Andolon Bangladesh candidate Maulana Saeed Ahmed was cancelled for lacking proposer and supporter signatures. Jatiya Party candidate Mohammad Mujibur Rahman’s nomination in the same seat was suspended due to inconsistencies in party documents. National Citizen Party candidate Rashed Ul Alam’s nomination was initially suspended over dual citizenship but later declared valid after he produced proof of renouncing US citizenship.

In Sylhet-5, independent candidate Saifuddin Khaled’s nomination was cancelled over loan default allegations.

In Sylhet-6, the nominations of Gono Odhikar Parishad candidate Jahidur Rahman over dual citizenship issues and BNP candidate Faisal Ahmed Chowdhury over income tax discrepancies were suspended, while independent candidate Md Fakhrul Islam’s nomination was cancelled due to irregularities in voter signatures.