Gonojagoron Moncho Spokesperson Imran H Sarker has alleged that the Election Commission has intentionally rejected his nomination papers for the upcoming general election.
“None of the nomination papers filed by those standing independently from Kurigram 4 constituency were accepted… This was done intentionally to discourage independent candidates from contesting,” he said on Monday while filing his appeal with the commission against the rejection of his nomination application.
Imran’s candidacy from Kurigram 4 constituency – which comprises Rajibpur, Roumari and Chilmari upazilas – was rejected on the grounds that he lacked the support of a minimum of 1% of the voters in the seat.
Candidates seeking to contest in an election need to submit the signatures of 1% of the voters in their respective constituencies with their nomination applications.
Imran further said the returning officer’s reasons for rejecting his nomination were trivial, and the chief election commissioner had earlier assured that such errors would not be taken into consideration.
“I had gathered an extra 500 signatures at the time of submission and wanted to submit them, saying there might be one or two errors on the list, but they refused to accept them. There is a provision for submitting immediate corrections – I was not given that chance either,” Imran told reporters.
“This proves that they [Election Commission] intentionally rejected my candidacy,” Imran said.
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Candidates who were rejected during Election Commission’s nomination papers scrutiny on Sunday started filing their appeals with the Election Commission on Monday, which will continue till Wednesday.
Former Awami League MP Golam Maula Rony, who recently joined BNP and sought nomination in Patuakhali 3; Ashraful Alam Saeed aka Hero Alam, who sought nomination in Bogra 4, Nawab Mohammad Shamsul Huda in Chapainawabganj 1, Khorshed Milton in Bogra 7, Abdul Wadud Bhuiya in Khagrachhari, and Abdul Wahab in Jhenaidah 1 filed appeals on Monday as well.
While filing his or her appeal, a complainant must mention the date his or her candidacy was rejected, list the reasons for the rejection, and provide the attested copy of the order issued by the respective returning officer.
The hearings of the appeals will be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
If the decision to reject a candidacy is upheld during a hearing, the applicant can move to court.
On Sunday, nearly one-fourth of the nomination papers submitted by potential candidates across the country were rejected after scrutiny.
The Election Commission scrutinized a total of 3,065 nomination papers, and rejected 786 applications. It approved the nomination papers of 2,279 candidates.
The 11th parliamentary election is set to be held on December 30.