Tarique Rahman completes process of voter registration and national identity card

After 17 years, BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman returned to the country to register his name on the voter list and complete the process of obtaining a national identity card.

Two days after returning from London, he visited the grave of Shaheed Osman Hadi in the Dhaka University area on Saturday morning.

Surrounded by party leaders and workers, he then went to the Election Commission building in Agargaon. There, he completed the necessary procedures to be registered as a voter and to obtain his national ID.

BNP had previously announced that Tarique Rahman would complete the necessary formalities to become a registered voter on 27 December, and the Election Commission had made preparations accordingly.

Around 1 p.m., Tarique Rahman went to the Election Training Institute building located behind the Election Commission. On the ground floor of the building, there is a room where services related to NIDs are provided for expatriates and prominent individuals. In that room, Tarique Rahman had his photograph taken, provided ten fingerprints, recorded his iris scan, and signed the necessary documents. Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed was present at the time.

Earlier on Saturday morning, at Agargaon in Dhaka, NID Wing DIG A.S.M. Humayun Kabir told journalists that to become a voter, the individual’s photograph, iris scan, and fingerprints are taken. These are uploaded to the Election Commission’s database and cross-matched with the information of voters stored in the data center. Afterwards, a number is generated. This process is done through software. It is not possible to specify exactly how long the process will take. For some people it may take five hours, seven hours, or ten hours, or even longer in certain cases, while for others it may take slightly less time.

During the caretaker government that followed the 2007–2008 period, Bangladesh created its first voter list with photographs in 2008. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s eldest son, Tarique Rahman, left Bangladesh for London on 11 September 2008, after being released from prison. Since he was abroad, he was not included in the voter list at that time.

Subsequently, during the Awami League’s rule, he did not return to the country and did not register as a voter.

During the caretaker government that followed the 2007-2008 period, Bangladesh created its first voter list with photographs in 2008. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s eldest son, Tarique Rahman, left Bangladesh for London on 11 September 2008, after being released from prison. Since he was abroad, he was not included in the voter list at that time. Subsequently, during the Awami League’s rule, he did not return to the country and did not register as a voter.

After the July uprising last year that removed the Awami League from power, the interim government is moving toward the 13th parliamentary election in February. The election schedule was announced on 11 December, with voting set for 12 February.

The Election Commission has already finalised the voter list. However, the law on voter lists states that the EC can include the name of any eligible person in the voter list at any time.

Tarique Rahman will contest the upcoming election from his ancestral area, Bogura Sadar (Bogura–6) constituency, as the candidate of the Sheaf of Paddy symbol. Local leaders have already collected his nomination papers on his behalf.