United News of Bangladesh

Independent candidate of Brahmanbaria-2 and expelled BNP leader Rumeen Farhana alleged on Thursday that she was forced to come to Dhaka on the first day of the electioneering, accusing the administration and police of bias. “Today I have come to the Election Commission with my written explanation. I was supposed to be in the field, but I was forced to come to Dhaka because I think the administration and the police are not as neutral as they should be,” she said after meeting three election commissioners at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital. The Electoral Enquiry and Adjudication Committee on Monday last issued a show-cause notice to former MP Rumeen Farhana over alleged violations of the electoral code of conduct in Brahmanbaria-2 constituency, which includes Sarail and Ashuganj upazilas and two unions of Bijoynagar upazila. The notice accused her of obstructing judicial duties and allegedly threatening an executive magistrate and showing a thumb gesture at the magistrate during a mobile court operation. In the notice, Rumeen was asked to submit a written explanation by 2:00 pm on January 22. Responding to the allegation, Rumeen said she had already submitted her written reply to the inquiry committee. She further alleged that her supporters had been attacked, beaten and sent to hospitals, with some sustaining head injuries, while houses were vandalised and set on fire. “So far, no cases have been filed. “I have come to inform the Election Commission that as an independent candidate, I am to contest against major political parties (in the election),” she said. ‘Will Tell EU’ Rumeen also said she would brief European Union election observers about the situation later in the day. “I want to say very clearly that no political party should dare to play games or manipulate the election process in Bangladesh. People have struggled for 15 years for a fair election. Regardless of which party we belonged to, we fought from our respective positions. We will not allow another manipulated election in Bangladesh,” she said. Replying to a question, Rumeen said she would definitely remain in the election race and continue campaigning. “I want a fair and credible election. No matter what happens, I will stay in the race till the end,” she added, saying she would keep the media and observers informed regularly. The Election Commission on December 11 announced the schedule to hold the 13th parliament election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order simultaneously on February 12 next. The election campaign began officially on Thursday after the Commission allocated electoral symbols on Wednesday to as many as 1,972 candidates contesting the upcoming election from 298 constituencies, excluding Pabna-1 and Pabna-2. The number of contesting candidates would rise further once contestants from Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 are added. Currently, there are nine valid candidates in the two constituencies. Altogether, the total number of candidates across the 300 constituencies stands at 1,981—comprising 1,732 candidates from 51 registered political parties and 249 independent candidates.

The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday upheld the candidacy of BNP candidate Mohammad Aslam Chowdhury (Chattogram-4) and rejected the nominations of BNP candidate for Chattogram-2 Sarwar Alamgir and its Cumilla-10 candidate  Abdul Gofur Bhuiyan . The Election Commission rejected appeals from several banks seeking to cancel Aslam Chowdhury’s candidacy over alleged loan defaults. The Commission, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, passed the order in the afternoon, hearing the petitions filed by Trust Bank, Bank Asia and Jamuna Bank. Aslam Chowdhury was a borrower from Trust Bank, while he was a guarantor over loans taken from two other banks. Cumilla-10 BNP candidate Gofur also loses candidacy Besides, BNP candidate for Chattogram-2 Sarwar Alamgir lost his candidacy following the hearing of an appeal petition by the Election Commission. The EC rejected the nomination of BNP candidate Sarwar Alamgir on the ground of loan default, accepting an appeal petition filed by his rival Jamaat candidate Nurul Amin in the same constituency. The Commission heard the petition and passed the order in the afternoon, declaring that Sarwar Alamgir’s nomination was cancelled. Earlier, the returning officer accepted his nomination declaring him as a valid candidate in the upcoming national election scheduled for February 12 next. BNP candidate for Cumilla-10 Abdul Gofur Bhuiyan  also lost his candidacy following the hearing of an appeal petition by the Election Commission. Chattogram-2 BNP candidate loses candidacy The EC rejected the nomination of the BNP candidate on grounds of dual citizenship, accepting an appeal petition filed by Sanskrit Muktijote candidate Kazi Nurse Alam Siddique in the same constituency. The Commission heard the petition and passed the order in the afternoon. The petitioner alleged that Gofur Bhuiyan is an US citizen and he holds an American passport. However, Gofur Bhuiyan or anyone on his behalf was not presented during the hearing Earlier, the returning officer accepted his nomination declaring him as a valid candidate in the upcoming national election scheduled for February 12 next. EC upholds BNP candidate Aslam Chy’s nomination in Ctg-4 The EC as the Electoral Appeal Tribunal on January 10 started hearing and disposal of the appeal petitions filed by aggrieved persons against the decisions of the returning officers over the acceptance and the cancellation of nomination papers. The Commission will settle all the 645 appeals by today (Sunday).

The Election Commission on Saturday cleared the way for more 44 previously rejected candidates to return to the electoral race after hearing their appeal petitions. Besides, the EC cancelled the candidacy of BNP’s Monzurul Ahsan Munshi and upheld that of National Citizen Party (NCP) candidate Abul Hasnat, popularly known as Hasnat Abdullah, in Cumilla-4. The Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, heard appeal petitions filed by both candidates against each other and passed its order. The EC accepted the appeal filed by Hasnat against the candidature of Monzurul Ahsan related to loan default, but turned down the appeal filed by Monzurul Ahsan, declaring the candidacy of Hasnat valid for the upcoming national election scheduled for February 12 next. On Saturday, the EC, that acts as the electoral appeal tribunal heard more than 100 appeals filed by aggrieved persons at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city. Of them, the Commission accepted 45 petitions including one against (the validity of Monzurul Ahsan Munshi), while rejecting 37 other petitions, and kept 21 pending to be settled on Sunday (the last day). Among the pending petitions, many appeals related to dual citizenship issue as the Commission is likely to pass a similar order for all such petitions on Sunday. With the 44 aspirants who regained candidacy, some 400 candidates returned to the electoral race in the last eight days after the EC started hearing of the appeals filed by aggrieved persons and organizations challenging the decisions of the returning officers over the acceptance and cancellation of nomination papers during the scrutiny. The Commission will settle all the 645 appeals petitions by Sunday (January 18). According to the EC, a total of 2,568 aspirants submitted nomination papers to contest the upcoming national election from the country’s 300 constituencies by the December 29 deadline. After scrutiny, returning officers declared 1,842 nomination papers valid and rejected 723, triggering the 645 appeals.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah on Thursday said the Election Commission (EC) has found no evidence of any irregularities in the postal ballots sent to expatriate Bangladeshis abroad reviewing several video clips circulating on social media regarding the distribution of postal ballots. “So far, we’ve received video clips from three locations…. The Commission examined them very seriously, but no evidence of any deviation has been found in those videos,” Sanaullah said. The election commissioner made the remarks while briefing reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city on Thursday evening. He said some political parties have already expressed reactions over the issue, prompting the Commission to take immediate steps to verify the matter. “To understand the actual situation, we contacted all the relevant embassies today.” Sanaullah said the EC will not make any compromise with the integrity of the postal balloting system. “There will be no leniency for anyone concerning postal ballots,” he said. Earlier on Tuesday, BNP raised concerns before the Election Commission over the viral videos related to the distribution of postal ballots sent to expatriates. The Election Commissioner said a total of 767,084 postal ballots were dispatched for the expatriate voters. Of them, 707,500 ballots have already reached the destinations in different countries and 59,584 others are on transition. Based on QR code scans, around 140,873 expatriate voters have already received their ballots. He said some ballots have been returned undelivered due to incorrect addresses in foreign lands. So far, 4,521 ballots have been returned, mostly from Malaysia, followed by Italy. Sanaullah said a large number of expatriate voters use shared addresses due to living in limited accommodation without individual mailing addresses, particularly in labour-intensive destinations in the Middle East and Malaysia. Some 171,680 voters used an address shared by two voters, while 95,816 voters used addresses shared by up to five voters, 59,276 voters used addresses shared by up to 10 voters, 38,109 voters used addresses shared by up to 20 voters, 21,915 voters used addresses shared by 20 to 50 voters, 14,891 voters used addresses shared by 100 or more voters, he said.

The Election Commission on Monday (January 12, 2026) allowed 41 previously rejected aspirants to contest the February-12 national election after hearings, while a Jamaat candidate for Chattogram-9 was declared invalid and a BNP aspirant for Sherpur-2 was kept pending. But the EC as the Electoral Appeal Tribunal turned down the appeal petitions of 24 other aspirants, including Jamaat-e-Islami aspirant Dr AKM Fazlul Haque (Chattogram-9), while the petition of BNP aspirant Mohammad Fahim Chowdhury (Sherpur-2) was kept pending to be settled later. The Election Commission, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, heard the appeal petitions at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city on Monday. “The Commission granted 41 petitions, rejected 24 others, kept four petitions pending to be settled later, " said EC Director (PR) Ruhul Amin Mollik. Bangladesh Election: EU Chief Observer clarifies ‘inclusive, participatory’ meaning Besides, one petition filed by aspirant of Pabna-2 was postponed as the election to the constituency remains suspended and another petition filed by independent aspirant Shakila Farzana (Chattogram-5) was not pressed for hearing, while the petition of independent aspirant Shakila Farzana (Chattogram-5) was not pressed for hearing. With the 41 aspirants who got green lights on Monday, a total of 150 aspirants returned to the electoral race since the EC on Saturday started hearing the appeal petitions filed by aggrieved aspirants against the decisions of the returning officers over the acceptance and cancellation of nomination papers during the scrutiny. During the appeal hearing, one independent candidate SAK Ekramuzzaman lost his candidacy following an appeal filed by his rival in Brahmanbaria-1 constituency. Besides, 46 other invalid aspirants failed to return to the race as the EC rejected their appeal petitions in the three days. On Monday, the EC rejected the petition of Jamaat’s aspirant Dr AKM Fazlul Haque (Chattogram-9) on dual citizenship. With the decision, there is no Jamaat nominated candidate to run in the election from Chattogram-9 constituency. The Commission kept the petition of BNP aspirant Mohammad Fahim Chowdhury (Sherpur-2) pending to be settled on January 16. Saturday’s EC hearing brings 51 candidates back into election race In the constituency, two BNP aspirants – Mohammad Fahim Chowdhury and Md Elius Khan—submitted nomination papers, but both nomination papers were declared invalid by the returning officer during the scrutiny. In Sherpur-2, there are now two valid candidates – Jamaat’s Golam Kibria and Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Abdullah Al Kayes. The 41 aspirants who returned to the race on Monday include three Jatiya Party aspirants Mohammad Mamunur Rashid (Tangail-6), AKM Fazlul Haque (Jamalpur-1) and Abdur Rashid (Satkhira-4), four AB Party aspirants Abdul Baset (Rangpur-5), Kefayet Hossain (Lakshmipur-2), Abdur Rahman (Chattogram-7) and Muhammad Rafiqul Islam (Manikganj-3), NCP aspirant Sohel Rana (Meherpur-1). The rejected 24 aspirants include Jatiya Party nominated Mohammad Jahangir Alam (Sunamganj-5) and SM Abdul Mannan (Manikganj-2). The EC will hear and dispose of a total of 645 petitions by January 18, which were filed by aggrieved aspirants, challenging the decisions of the returning officers over the acceptance or cancellation of nomination papers. This time a majority of aspirants who challenged the rejection of their nomination papers have regained eligibility to contest the 13th parliamentary election, as the EC adopted a lenient approach towards minor errors and unintentional mistakes found in nomination documents and affidavits. A total of 2,568 aspirants submitted nomination papers to run the upcoming national election from the country’s 300 constituencies within the December-29 deadline. EC suspends Pabna-1, Pabna-2 elections until further court order The 69 returning officers- – two divisional commissioners (Dhaka and Chattogram), 64 district deputy commissioners and three regional election officers (Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna)— declared 1,842 nomination papers valid, while 723 others invalid during the scrutiny from December 30 to January 04. Since BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia passed away, her three nomination papers submitted for three constituencies were not scrutinized. The Election Commission on December 11 announced the polls schedule to arrange the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order simultaneously on February 12, 2026. According to the schedule, the late date for withdrawal of candidature is January 20. The election campaign will start on January 22 and continue till (7:30am on February 10) 48 hours before the balloting period.