Women’s reserved seat poll: EC rejects Monira Sharmin's appeal, upholds Jeba Amin’s candidacy

The
Election Commission (EC) rejected an appeal against the nomination of
BNP-backed candidate Jeba Amin Khan for reserved women’s seat poll to the 13th
National Parliament, allowing her candidacy to stand.
At the
same time, the EC upheld the returning officer’s decision to cancel the
nomination of National Citizen Party (NCP) candidate Monira Sharmin, ruling
that she had not completed three years since resigning from government service.
The EC
also dismissed an appeal filed against BNP candidate Madhabi Marma’s
nomination, leaving her candidacy valid.
Today
marked the first day of hearings on appeals against returning officers’
decisions regarding nomination papers for the reserved women’s seats. The
hearings began at 11 am at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka, and
concluded at noon.
After the
hearing, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told reporters, “Monira
Sharmin’s appeal has been rejected. Her nomination remains cancelled.”
Following
the decision, Monira said she would challenge the ruling in the High Court.
“We will
go to the High Court. I don’t want women’s representation in parliament and
their political empowerment to become uncertain due to ambiguities in the law,”
she said.
On BNP
candidate Jeba Amin’s case, EC Masud said the appeal against her nomination was
not valid as the appellant was not a candidate.
Meanwhile,
an appeal had been filed with the EC challenging the nomination of BNP
candidate Madhabi Marma. The EC heard the matter today but dismissed the
appeal.
The appeal
was filed by Chandra Chakma, central joint secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra
Dal, who alleged that Madhabi was still serving as a member of the Bandarban
Hill District Council, which she claimed disqualified her from contesting.
Denying
the allegation, Madhabi said she had resigned from the council on April 20.
After the
hearing this afternoon, Chandra Chakma told reporters, “I was told that under
the law, an appeal must be filed by an aggrieved candidate, not an individual.
That’s why my appeal was not accepted. We will now go to the High Court.”
















