The nomination papers of 11 candidates, including a Jamaat-e-Islami aspirant, were rejected on Friday during the first day of scrutiny for three parliamentary constituencies in Cumilla, election officials said.
A total of 107 aspirants submitted nomination papers across the district’s 11 constituencies, with scrutiny for Cumilla-1 to Cumilla-6 conducted at the office of the District Returning Officer.
Officials said the process for Cumilla-1, Cumilla-2, and Cumilla-3 was completed by Friday afternoon, resulting in the cancellation of 11 nomination papers across the three seats.
In Cumilla-1 (Daudkandi–Meghna), seven of the 12 candidates were declared eligible, while the nominations of five others were rejected due to various irregularities.
In Cumilla-2 (Homna–Titas), six out of 10 candidates were cleared, with four being disqualified.
In Cumilla-3 (Muradnagar), seven of the nine candidates were found eligible, while two were disqualified. Among those rejected was Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Yusuf Hakim Sohel.
During the scrutiny, the nominations of BNP candidate Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain in Cumilla-1, Selim Bhuiyan in Cumilla-2, and BNP candidate Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad in Cumilla-3 were declared valid.
Later in the day, the nominations of Hasanat Abdullah, chief coordinator (southern) of National Citizen Party (NCP), and BNP nominee Engineer Manjurul Ahsan Munshi for Cumilla-4 (Debidwar) were also declared valid. Hasanat Abdullah and his supporters were present at the Returning Officer’s office at the time of the announcement.
District Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner Md Reza Hasan said the nominations were cancelled due to discrepancies in affidavits, loan default issues, irregularities in the mandatory one-per cent voter signatures for independent candidates, and failure to submit required documents.
He added that candidates whose nominations were rejected would have the opportunity to appeal to the Election Commission within the stipulated time. Scrutiny for Cumilla-1 to Cumilla-6 will continue throughout Friday, while the remaining constituencies will be examined on Saturday.
