Sadiq Abdullah's candidature cancelled, Zahid Faruk's upheld 

The election commission (EC) has cancelled the candidacy of former mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, who was an independent candidate for the Barishal-5 seat.

The decision was announced by the commission after a hearing at the Agargaon election building in the capital on Friday morning.

The appeal for the cancellation of Sadiq Abdullah's nomination was filed by Awami League's candidate for the same constituency, State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Faruk.

The appeal alleged dual citizenship of Sadiq Abdullah in the United States and the concealment of wealth information in his affidavit. With the approval of this appeal, Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah's candidacy was subsequently canceled.

Meanwhile, former mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, who was an independent candidate for the same seat, appealed to the election commission seeking the cancellation of Zahid Faruk's candidature.

However, the EC rejected his application, thereby upholding Zahid Faruk's candidature.

The internal division within the Awami League's politics around the Barishal city election last June has now manifested in the parliamentary elections.

The General Secretary of City Awami League, Sadiq Abdullah, failed to secure the party nomination for the Barishal-5 seat in the 12th National Assembly elections, and the current Member of Parliament Zahid Faruk was nominated instead.

In response, the city Awami League decided to field Sadiq Abdullah as an independent candidate. 

The 12th National Parliament elections are scheduled for 7 January. A total of 2,716 nomination papers were submitted for the 300 parliamentary seats, with 731 nomination papers being rejected during the selection process.