AL candidate’s nomination cancelled, nomination of Kalyan Party's Ibrahim valid

Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shahin Imran has canceled the nomination papers of Awami League's nominated candidate, Salahuddin Ahmed, in Cox's Bazar-1 constituency due to default.  

Meanwhile, the nomination paper of Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, chairman of Bangladesh Kalyan Party, has been declared valid. 

In the Cox's Bazar-1 (Chakaria-Pekua) constituency, 13 aspirants submitted nomination papers to contest in the 12th National Parliament election.  

The verification of nomination papers took place at the deputy commissioner's office at 10 am on Sunday. Out of the 13 candidates in Cox's Bazar-1 constituency, the nomination papers of eight candidates were deemed valid, while the nomination papers of five candidates were canceled. 

Zafar Alam, a member of the Awami League and the current member of parliament for Cox's Bazar-1 Constituency, along with his son, filed nomination papers as independent candidates, and both of their nomination papers have been declared valid.  

According to sources in the returning officer's office, the nomination papers of Awami League candidate Salahuddin Ahmed and independent candidates Shafiqul Islam, Qamar Uddin Arman, Shamsuddin Muhammad Ilias, and Shahnewaz Chowdhury have been canceled.  

The candidates whose nomination papers were declared valid include Bangladesh Kalyan Party chairman Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, secretary general Abdul Awal Mamun, Jatiya Party (JP) presidium member AH Salahuddin Mahmud, Jatiya Party (JaPa) candidate Hosne Ara, Workers Party candidate Abu Mohammad Bashirul Alam, Bangladesh Islami Front’s Mohammad Belal Uddin, independent candidate and the incumbent MP Zafar Alam, and Zafar Alam's son Tanveer Ahmad Siddiqui. 

Deputy commissioner and returning officer Muhammad Shahin Imran informed Prothom Alo that Awami League's candidate Salahuddin Ahmed had his nomination papers canceled due to defaulting on two banks. 

Additionally, regarding independent candidates, the nomination papers of Shafiqul Islam, Qamar Uddin Arman, and Shahnewaz Chowdhury were canceled because they did not attach the supporting list of 1 per cent of voters. 

In response, Awami League's nominated candidate Salahuddin Ahmed stated, "On 23 November, the court ordered my removal from the list of defaulters. Therefore, I am not a defaulter. However, my nomination was canceled by citing defaulter status in the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) report. This is unfair, and I plan to appeal."