Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Secretary General and former MP, Professor Mia Golam Porwar, issued a statement today, 4 January expressing concern over the actions of certain Returning Officers during the scrutiny of nomination papers of candidates for the upcoming national parliamentary election.

In his statement, he said, “Across the country, after the submission of nomination papers in various constituencies for the Thirteenth National Parliamentary Election, the process of scrutiny of the nomination papers of parliamentary candidates is currently underway. During this scrutiny, different pictures are being observed in the conduct of the Returning Officers of certain districts. In some districts, candidates’ nomination papers have been cancelled on the basis of trivial issues. Even in cases where the Returning Officer had the authority to exercise personal discretion or could have granted leniency at his own consideration, a rigid policy has been adopted. In some cases, due to the deliberate overreach of the Returning Officers, the candidacy of many qualified candidates has been cancelled. Even after submitting the required information, evidence and documents, deliberately cancelling candidacies is by no means appropriate.

Candidacies have been cancelled on the basis of some unnecessary matters which are not important in the eyes of the law. It appears to us that these are being done at the instigation of a certain quarter. If this continues, how the upcoming national parliamentary election will be free, fair and transparent is a big question before the nation.

We call upon the Chief Election Commissioner to take steps so that Returning Officers do not cancel the candidacy of any candidate over such insignificant trivial incidents. I urge the Election Commission to immediately declare valid the candidacies of those whose nominations have been cancelled on very light and unusual contexts.

I also call upon the Election Commission and the concerned Returning Officers to ensure equal opportunities and facilities for all and to level the playing field of the election.”