Election Commission has become biased, former Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) mayor Jahangir Alam has alleged after his nomination papers were rejected on Sunday.
“The Election Commission has moved far away from neutrality. I do not know if it is because of some invisible power,” he said at his office at Bangtaz Auditorium in Gazipur at 11am.
Earlier in the day, Md Faridul Islam, the returning officer for the election, cancelled the nomination on the grounds of Jahangir's being a loan defaulter.
However, the nomination of his mother, Zayeda Khatun, for the post of mayor was declared valid.
In this regard, Jahangir said: “Injustice has been done to me. It's about depositing installments of the bank's debt. The authority has given written and verbal assurance on this matter. However, the Election Commission has shown bias in its work. It was not impartial before. I will appeal to the High Court.”
He added that there is a composite factory owned by Koreans in a ward of Gazipur City Corporation.
“I do not have any shares in that company. There is no personal gain either. However, to save thousands of workers, I have donated my own property. The Korean owner has taken a loan to pay the mortgage of that factory to keep it running. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Korean owner was unable to pay the amount to the bank on time,” he added.
“After I became a candidate, on April 11 and 18, the Korean owner paid the amount owed to Bangladesh Bank and Agrani Bank. All those documents have been submitted through lawyers and bank authorities,” he added.
Jahangir claimed that the company has repaid the full amount.
In this regard, Advocate Azmat Ullah Khan, president of Gazipur Metropolitan unit Awami League, and the nominated candidate for GCC polls said: "I am relieved that Jahangir Alam's nomination paper has been cancelled. I am definitely relieved that my team, common people and peace-loving people are with me. I don't think of anyone as an enemy in the election, I think of it as a rival. I want transparent and competitive elections.”
Md Faridul Islam, the returning officer said: "The papers submitted by Jahangir Alam for the mayor position were correct… his nomination was cancelled as the institution for which he stood as guarantor defaulted.”
The nomination papers of independent candidates Oliur Rahman and Abul Hossain were also rejected as they could not submit proper documents.
Suspended mayor Jahangir submitted his nomination papers on Thursday to run for the post again as an independent candidate.
The local government ministry suspended Jahangir from the post of mayor in November 2021 on charges of abuse of power, illegal activities, corruption and mismanagement.
Jahangir was also expelled from the Awami League for breaking party discipline.
He was reinstated to the party in January, subject to conditions.
