Tarique Rahman not a voter yet, but there is scope: EC secretary

Senior secretary of the election commission (EC) secretariat, Akhtar Ahmed has said that only those who registered as voters by 31 October will be able to cast a vote in the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad(national parliament) election.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman, Tarique Rahman has not yet been registered as a voter. However, if the EC decides, he may still have the scope to become a voter and a candidate in the upcoming election.

The EC has such legal authority, he added.

Akhtar Ahmed made these remarks while responding to questions from journalists at the EC office in Agargaon area of Dhaka, this afternoon, Monday.

The EC secretary said that seven fields in the National Identity Card (NID) - the voter’s name, father’s name, mother’s name, occupation, date of birth, voter’s address, and photograph - cannot be corrected for the time being. However, new NID registration activities are ongoing.

Those who have been or will be included in the voter list are only those who registered by 31 October 2025. Only their names will appear in the voter list. Anyone who registers after that date will not be able to vote in the upcoming election, he added.

The EC secretary was asked whether BNP’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman had become a voter. In response, he said that to his knowledge, Tarique Rahman has not yet registered as a voter.

When asked whether Tarique Rahman could participate in the upcoming election, the EC secretary said, “He may be able to, if the commission decides.”

When questioned about the legal basis for such a decision, the EC secretary said that the law provides for it. The EC can grant such an opportunity to anyone.