The Election Commission (EC) has rejected the candidatures of BNP leader Amanullah Aman and Krishak Sramik Janata League President Kader Siddique for contesting the upcoming general election.
The commission came up with the decision today after holding hearing on their appeals challenging the rejection of nomination papers by the returning officers during scrutiny, reports our staff correspondent from the spot.
BNP leader Aman filed appeal to the EC to contest the election from Dhaka-2 while Kader Siddiqui for Tangail-4 and Tangail-8 constituencies.
It also rejected a petition filed by Workers Party of Bangladesh chief Rashed Khan Menen challenging the legality of the candidacy of Mirza Abbas from Dhaka-8 constituency. However, there is no legal bar for Abbas to contest the national election.
The commission also declared the candidacy of Bangladesh National Alliance (BNA) chief Nazmul Huda as valid to contest the upcoming general election. Huda filed the appeal to vie the election from Dhaka-17 constituency.
Besides, the commission granted the appeal of Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal President Afroza Abbas for Dhaka-9. Yesterday, the EC kept pending hearings of Afroza's appeal.
The EC today started hearing of the remaining 233 petitions, filed against the decisions of returning officers over the rejection and acceptance of nomination papers.
To know more about the fate of the 233 appeals, take a look at the table below:
Constituency
Valid
Rejected
Party
Feni-1
Khaleda Zia
BNP
Bogura-6
Khaleda Zia
BNP
Bogura-7
Khaleda Zia
BNP
Chattogram-5
Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin
BNP
Rajshahi-5
Nadim Mostafa
BNP
Chattogram-8
M Morshed Khan
BNP
Dhaka-2
Amanullah Aman
BNP
Dhaka-8
Mirza Abbas
BNP
Dhaka-9
Afroza Abbas
BNP
Dhaka-17
Nazmul Huda
Bangladesh National Alliance (BNA)
Tangail-4
Kader Siddique
Krishak Sramik Janata League
Tangail-8
Kader Siddique
Krishak Sramik Janata League
Related News
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At least 20 BNP leaders and activists including its Khagrachhari district unit President Wadud Bhuiyan were injured in an attack allegedly by Awami League men while campaigning in Ramgarh upazila today.
Wadud, also a former MP and chairman of Chattogram Hill Tracts Development Board, came under attack around 11:30am when he along with his party men was electioneering for Jatiya Oikyafront candidate Shahidul Islam Bhuiyan Farhad, BNP sources said.
At least 20 BNP men including senior leaders of district unit Jobo Dal, Chhatra Dal and other front organisations were injured in the attack by the “ruling party men”, they claimed.
The injured were given treatment at Khagrachhari District Sadar Hospital.
Confirming the news of the clash between AL and BNP men, Ahmar Uzzaman, superintendent of police in Khagrachhari told The Daily Star that police later rushed to the spot and contained the situation.
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A Dhaka court yesterday issued warrants for arrest of BNP leader Amanullah Aman and 168 others in a case filed last year under the Explosive Substances Act.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Kazi Md Ashrafuzzaman passed the order after dismissing petitions submitted by Aman and the others, seeking time for extending their bails that expired yesterday.
The court also fixed January 13, 2019 for submission of reports on execution of arrest warrants issued against them.
During the hearing yesterday, Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder told the court that on June 5 last year, their clients secured bail from the High Court till submission of relevant police reports.
Police submitted charge sheet against his clients on November 18 this year, but they could not appear before the court due to various reasons, Advocate Masud said, adding that their bail should be extended till the scheduled date.
On June 4 last year, the case was filed following a clash between two groups of BNP men in Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital, injuring Hazratpur Union unit Awami League Organising Secretary Jaher Hossain and several others.
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Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said BNP has failed to plunge the December 30 national election into controversy even after knocking at the doors of its foreign friends.
“They (BNP) wrote letters to different countries to make the election questionable but their motive has gone in vain,” Quader, also the minister for Road Transport and Bridges, told reporters after visiting construction site of the second Kanchpur Bridge on Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet highways in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon upazila.
BNP also completely failed to ensure momentum of their anti-government movement as people did not take to the streets by responding their call, the Awami League leader said.
Replying to a query about BNP’s decision to refrain from participating in the upcoming upazila elections, the minister said no political parity can sustain without taking part in election.
He said the heads of different countries including UK and Switzerland welcomed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following the formation of government under her leadership for the fourth time.
Claiming that people would not throng the streets responding to the BNP’s call, Quader said BNP is engaged in negative politics and thus it will lose its foreign friends as well as the trust of the countrymen.
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Just days ahead of the 11th national elections, Election Commissioner Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury today said “situation is under control”.
He came up with the remark in response to a query by reporters at the Election Commission in Dhaka’s Agargaon this afternoon.
Shahadat’s comment comes a day after Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukdar expressed grave concern over the ongoing spate of violence ahead of the polls scheduled to be held on December 30.
Hoping for a free, fair and peaceful election, Shahadat said, “I admit that anxiety grew among people centering the election. I want to term it political heat”.
He said he did not think that the situation was deteriorating ahead of the polls.
WHAT DID ELECTION COMMISSIONER MAHBUB SAY YESTERDAY?
Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder expressed grave concern over the recent incidents of violence.
Saying that violence and election cannot go hand in hand, he added,“If we cannot hold a peaceful election in a violence-free environment after 47 years of independence, the sacrifice of 30 lakh martyrs for independence and democracy will go in vain. We cannot allow this to happen.”
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The families of two teenagers killed in Mohammadpur during a clash of Awami League factions ahead of the general election have been robbed of justice.
The family members of one of the victims said police submitted the final report in the case without talking to them. The report mentioned no clash even though it was widely covered by the media at that time. It termed the incident an “accident”.
Councillor Tarequzzaman Rajib of ward-33 also threatened the father of one of the victims not to file a murder case, they said.
A case was filed after the November 10, 2018, incident and the father of one of the teens was made the plaintiff.
The father maintains he did not file the case and that the signature on the case document could not be his since he is illiterate. He said Councillor Rajib put a gun to his head and told him to do as he said after the incident.
The families opened up to this paper only after Rajib was arrested this week.
On the morning of November 10, 2018, a procession of vehicles, largely comprised of flatbeds, with supporters of AL leader Sadek Khan was going towards the AL Dhanmondi office to buy nomination paper for Sadek’s candidacy in the polls.
Mohammad Sujon, 19, and Arif Hossain, 14, were on one of the pickup trucks when the procession was attacked allegedly by the men of rival AL leader and then lawmaker Jahangir Kabir Nanak.
During the melee Sujon and Arif fell off the vehicle and the driver, trying to avoid the brick chunks being hurled at the pickup, reversed and ran the two over, according to case documents, news reports, witness accounts, and statements of the families.
Sujan and Arif died in hospital.
Arif’s father Faruk Hossain was taken to a community centre in Mohammadpur when he was on his way to the hospital. He was confined there for 12 hours by Rajib’s men, Faruk told The Daily Star.
Late at night, Rajib, reportedly Nanak’s ally, at the community centre told Faruk to go to the police station to talk about getting the body of his son.
Faruk then went to the police station, gave his details, and told the officials there what he knew about the incident. He had no idea that police were filing a case making him the plaintiff. The police officials there asked him to identify the body at the Suhrawardy hospital, Faruk said.
On his way to the hospital from the police station, two men stopped him near Shia Masjid and took him to Rajib’s home.
Rajib told him at gunpoint to do as he said regarding the matter, Faruk told The Daily Star.
“You wouldn’t get anything if you file a murder case. Instead, you will be harassed and face the same consequences as your son. You are from Lalmonhon of Bhola and so am I. Do what I say. You will get a good compensation,” Faruk quoted Rajib as saying.
Faruk eventually identified his son’s body the next day.
Faruk said, “After the incident, I thought it was police who were the plaintiff in the case.
“This is my NID, sir. See, I can’t sign,” Faruk showed his NID to this correspondent which had his thumb print.
Faruk said not a single police officer talked to him about the investigation since then.
Sujon’s uncle Md Riaz told The Daily Star last night that the police never talked to them either.
He said councillor Rajib had promised them compensation and jobs for family members but he never delivered.
Sujon’s family did not know that the final report was submitted. They heard it first from The Daily Star correspondent.
After “investigating” the case for 11 months, police submitted the final report terming the incident an “accident”.
Police had arrested convener of Jubo League’s Adabar Thana unit Arifur Rahman Tuhin in connection with leading the attack but in the final report police said they found no evidence of Tuhin’s involvement.
Rajib, on behalf of then MP Nanak, had given Arif’s family Tk 30,000 and Sujon’s family Tk 25,000 as burial cost.
After the incident, AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader said the prime minister directed the authorities concerned to submit a probe report over the incident within two days.
Whoever is found involved would be given exemplary punishment, he had said, adding that the prime minister wanted to know “who destroyed the peaceful election environment”.
Sub-Inspector Mukul Ranjan of Mohammadpur police station, investigation officer (IO) of the case, said they submitted the final report of the case in the first week of this month as they could not find any evidence or witnesses.
Police also could not identify the pickup truck and its driver.
In the final report, police said the two factions of the ruling party came “face to face” near Mohammadi Homes Ltd on November 10 when the unidentified driver reversed in a hurry and could not see what was behind him. This led to the two getting run over.
The SI in his investigation found no evidence of the clash. He only said the two faction came “face to face”. The media, however, had extensive coverage of the incident.
They reported that the attackers, armed with hammers, sharp weapons and brick chunks, swooped on the procession of vehicles.
The IO said said Faruk did not know what had actually happened and had “filed the case” based on hearsay.
Taking to this newspaper, the SI claimed that he did not find anything in CCTV footage and no local wanted to be a witness.
Asked why the IO never contacted Faruk, the IO first claimed that he had contacted him but later said they could not reach him.
The IO claimed that Faruk had indeed filed the case.
At one stage of the conversation with this correspondent, the IO said he had written the final report with direction from a superior officer of Tejgaon Division Police.
Anisur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Tejgaon division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star that he had no knowledge about the development of the case as he joined the division only a few months ago.
“I will have to see the documents,” he added.
In November last year, Nanak said he had nothing to do with the attack on the procession.
Sadek had said that he did not want to blame anyone and demanded a proper investigation.
The Daily Star could not reach Nanak and Sadek for comments over the last few days.
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