Hundreds of AL independent nominations cancelled

About 200 heavyweight leaders of the Awami League who wanted to contest as independent candidates in the upcoming 12th national elections have been cancelled, paving the way for the ruling party-nominated candidates to win in those seats.

Among denied candidates are incumbent lawmakers, upazila chairmen, municipal mayors and other influential leaders holding various positions of the party.

Most of the cancellation till Sunday was due to errors in the affidavits containing the signatures of 1% of the voters in the area required for securing nominations.

Additionally, cancellations occurred for reasons such as loan default, providing incorrect information, submitting incomplete forms, lacking an income tax certificate, missing the signature of the identifier, and failing to include the necessary affidavit.

Several top AL leaders said the cancellation of nominations for heavyweight leaders has significantly alleviated concerns about possible stiff challenge from independents.

A central leader of the AL told The Business Standard that the prime minister's approval to field "dummy candidates" prompted many within the party to seek candidacy with aspirations of becoming MPs. 

With independent nominations cancelled, those who were AL nominated are expected to face less challenge for victory, the AL leader said. 

However, leaders who were denied candidacy expressed their intention to appeal to the Election Commission against the District Returning Officer's decision to deny them candidacy. 

As per the Election Commission's schedule, the scrutiny of candidate nominations for all seats nationwide should be completed by today. The process started on 1 December. 

The list of final candidates will be announced between 6 and 15 December after disposal of appeals.

AL's independent candidate galore

The AL announced 304 candidates in 298 seats on 26 November. In the list, 71 current MPs were excluded. 

Before announcing party candidates, party president Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed that any leader of the party can contest the election as an "independent" candidate.

After that, 27 out of the 71 MPs who were dropped collected nomination forms  as independent candidates. 

Also, 50 upazila chairman and municipal mayors dropped from AL list also collected nominations to contest as independents. Finally, About 450 AL leaders took nominations to be elected independently.

Dummy vs independent 

Regarding the AL's independent candidates, the party's praesidium member Abdur Rahman told TBS that the prime minister's directive did not mention "independent" but "dummy" candidates. 

"Independent candidates and dummy candidates are not the same thing. Dummy candidates are not for winning. They are there so that AL candidates don't win uncontested," he explained.  

He further said the distinction between independent and rebel candidates is causing confusion, with misleading explanations. It has been clarified that those collected AL nominations cannot run as independent candidates and will face expulsion if they attempt to do so.

Meanwhile, several independents of the ruling party denied candidacy have alleged that the Election Commission was cancelling or suspending their nominations in a biassed manner.

However, Election Commission Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said, "It has always been happening. Those who are cancelled are the ones who complain."

"Still, if someone is aggrieved, he can appeal. If not satisfied there too, he has the option of going to court," he added.

Heavyweights knocked out

In Chattogram-1, nomination of independent candidate and former chairman of Mirsarai Upazila Parishad Ghiyas Uddin has been cancelled. 

In Cumilla-1, the nomination of Daudkandi Upazila Awami League president and independent candidate Naeem Hasan was cancelled. 

In Chapainawabganj-1 (Shivganj), independent candidate and District AL Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam has been denied candidacy.

In Barishal-5, independent candidate and Awami League General Secretary of Barishal city, Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, is facing a complaint regarding his wife's house in the US, potentially omitted from his affidavit. A decision on the matter is expected today.

Besides, the nomination of seven more independent candidates of the AL in 5 seats of Barishal district was cancelled.

In Rangpur-6, the nomination of upazila AL general secretary party's independent candidate Sirajul Islam has been cancelled. The party nominated current Speaker of parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury in the seat. 

In Sylhet-2, the nomination of Biswanath Municipal Mayor Muhibur Rahman, the AL's independent candidate, was cancelled.

In Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's Narail-2, independent candidate Syed Faizul Amir Litu, former General Secretary of Lohagara Upazila Awami League, has been disqualified due to discrepancies in supporting voters' signatures and non-completion of the form.

The nomination of Dhaka South AL's organising secretary and independent candidate Golam Sarwar Kabir has been cancelled for Munshiganj-1. 

In Rajshahi-1, independent candidates of AL Golam Rabbani, Akhter-Uz-Zaman Akhter, Ayesha Akter Dalia, Sharmin Akter Nipa (Mahiya Mahi) were declared as invalid.

Top rejects from other parties

The nomination paper of Bikalpa Dhara candidate Mahi Badruddoza Chowdhury from Munshiganj-1 over allegations of defaulting loans.

Nomination papers of Jatiya Party candidates have not been validated in Manikganj. Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Rehena Akhtar said nomination papers were not considered valid due to two loan defaulters and one due to gas bill arrears.

Former Member of Parliament and Party Presidium member SM Abdul Mannan of Manikganj-2 constituency and Zahirul Alam Rubel of Manikganj-1 and Manikganj-3 constituencies have been cancelled due to loan default.

On the other hand, the candidate of Manikganj-1 constituency Hasan Saeed, the general secretary of the district Jatiya Party, has been cancelled due to the outstanding gas bill of the house.

In Sylhet-2, the nominations of Jatiya Party's Mahbubur Rahman Chowdhury and National People's Party (NPP) Md Manowar Hossain were suspended.