Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Monday formally entered the electoral fray, with his nomination papers filed for the February 12 parliamentary elections from the Dhaka-17 constituency.
The nomination was submitted around noon at the office of the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner in Segunbagicha. Abdus Salam, adviser to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, filed the papers on Rahman’s behalf, accompanied by Professor Dr Farhad Halim Donar, chief adviser of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB).
Monday marked the final day for the submission of nomination papers for the 13th National Parliamentary Election.
Addressing a briefing after the filing, Salam thanked supporters and party workers, saying city residents warmly welcomed Rahman after 17 years in exile.
“They expect the people of Dhaka-17 to spontaneously cast their votes for him in the February 12 election,” Salam said.
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Rahman’s nomination comes a day after the Election Commission approved his inclusion in the voter list, weeks ahead of polling. On Sunday, the BNP leader completed biometric enrolment at the EC office, providing fingerprints and iris scans as part of the voter registration process.
The 60-year-old leader had earlier applied for voter registration online. Rahman and his daughter Zamia completed all formalities for enrolment and issuance of a National Identity Card on Saturday. Following their inclusion in the voter list, new NID numbers will be generated for both.
Bangladesh introduced a biometric voter list with photographs in 2008. Rahman, who was a political prisoner at the time and later left for London after his release, was not included in the list as he remained abroad.
Ending his self-exile of 17 years, Rahman returned to Bangladesh from London on December 25 to assume leadership of the BNP, even as Khaleda Zia remains in “extremely critical” condition at a Dhaka hospital.
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