Both BNP Vice Chairman (post suspended) Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury and former Chattogram North district convener Golam Akbar Khondaker have been cleared to contest the Chattogram-6 (Raozan) constituency, election officials confirmed Saturday.
Their nominations were approved following a second day of scrutiny at 10am by the district administration and returning officer, allowing the veteran leaders to participate in the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election.
Giasuddin Quader had submitted two nomination papers for the same seat, one to the chief returning officer and another to the assistant returning officer.
According to Election Commission rules, if a candidate files multiple papers for the same party, only the first is examined. Since his first nomination was validated, the second was not scrutinised and Giasuddin Quader did not submit any independent nomination, said Senior District Election Officer Mohammad Bashir Ahmed.
Alongside them, three other candidates also had their nominations approved, Md Shahjahan Manju of Jamaat-e-Islami, Nasir Uddin Talukdar of Ganosamhati Andolan, and Mohammad Ilyas Nuri of Bangladesh Islami Front.
Sources said both Giasuddin Quader and Golam Akbar Khondaker had long aspired to contest from Raozan. Their rivalry in the constituency has led to 14 violent incidents since August last year, six of which were politically motivated killings
For this election, BNP nominated both leaders for Chattogram-6. Giasuddin Quader received party backing on 4 December, while Golam Akbar Khondaker’s nomination was approved on 28 December through a letter signed by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
After the scrutiny, both leaders spoke to reporters, confirming the validity of their nominations.
