NOMINATION WITHDRAWAL Over 500 pull out of race

More than 500 aspirants withdrew their candidature in the upcoming parliamentary elections on the last day for withdrawing nomination papers on Sunday.
Till 11:30pm, Election Commission was yet to have the total count of the withdrawals and how many would be in the race of December 30 general election as the two major political alliances finalised their seat sharing deals on the day.
As per the schedule, electioneering begins today across the country with the declaration of candidatures. 
On the basis of reports from returning officers’ offices, the commission officials said that the number of withdrawals already crossed 500 and the number of valid candidates stood over 1,500 till 11:30pm.
The retuning officers finalised the contesting candidates for 300 constituencies after the deadline for withdrawal of candidature expired at 5:00pm on Sunday.
However, candidates of different political parties in a number of constituencies did not withdraw their nominations despite party high-ups’ directions to do so.
The High Court on the day allowed at least 11 candidates, including six mayors, two upazila chairmen and independent candidate Imran H Sarker, to contest the elections, staying EC’s decision rejecting their nomination papers. 
A bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Md Iqbal Kabir is due today to hear three writ petitions of former prime minister and BNP chairman Khaleda Zia seeking a directive to allow her to contest the polls from three constituencies by staying the commission’s decision rejecting all her nomination papers. 
The bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil is to pass order today on the three writ petitions filed by convict BNP leaders Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu and Abdul Wahdud Bhuiyan seeking a directive to allow them to contest the polls by staying the EC decision. 
The bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Md Shohrowardi is due today to pass an order on the writ petition filed by Jatiya Party’s outgoing secretary general Ruhul Amin Hawlader seeking a directive to allow him to contest the polls from Patuakhali 1. 
The benches heard 26 writ petitions against the EC’s decision rejecting nomination papers.
Official campaign in the 11th parliamentary elections starts today immediately after allocation of election symbols among the candidates.
EC joint secretary Mokhlesur Rahman told New Age that no candidate was allowed to spend more than Tk 10 per voter during the electioneering and the total election expenditures, including the party’s donation, of a candidate would not exceed Tk 25 lakh.
The commission has already deployed 600 judicial magistrates and nearly 1,000 executive magistrates to punish violators of election code during the campaign.
As part of the election campaign, the contenders can hang only black-white posters with the size of highest 60cm by 45 cm. No poster can be pasted and no colourful poster or banner can be used.
In case of banner, the highest size is three by one metre, as per the election code.
A total of 3,065 aspirants — 2,567 from all the 39 registered political parties and 498 independent —  filed nomination papers  to contest the elections from the country’s 300 constituencies.
The returning officers on December 2 accepted 2,279 nomination papers and rejected 786 others during the scrutiny.
Later, 243 aspirants got back their candidature after they submitted petitions to the EC challenging the decisions of the returning officers.
Though the deadline for withdrawal of candidature expired Sunday afternoon, the total number of contesting candidates was not available at the EC till filing the report at 10:00pm.
On the last day, ruling Awami League and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party provided their final list with the EC mentioning the issue of sharing electoral symbols with their alliance partners.
A letter, signed by AL president Sheikh Hasina, said that AL nominated 258 candidates for the party’s aspirants while it selected 16 aspirants from its 14-part alliance.
Of the 16 candidates, 14 will use AL’s electoral symbol ‘boat’ while the rest two — Anwar Hossain Manju-led Jatiya Party-JP and Jatiya Party led by Ershad — would use their own symbols ‘bicycle’ and ‘plough’ respectively.
According to the AL’s list, its 16 alliance contenders are Workers Party of Bangladesh’s Rashed Khan Menon for Dhaka 8, Elias Ali for Thakurgaon 3, Fazle Hossain Badsha for Rajshahi 2, Mustafa Lutfullah for Satkhira 1 and Tipu Sultan for Barishal 3, Hasanul Hq Inu-led Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal’s Hasanul Haq Inu for Kushtia 2, Shirin Akter for Feni 1 and AKM Rezaul Karim Tansen for Bogura 4, Bangladesh Tarikat Federation’s Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizvandary for Chattogram 2 and Anwar Hossain for Lakshmipur 1, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh’s Mahi B Chowdhury for Munshiganj 1, MM Shahin for Moulvibazar 2 and Abdul Mannan for Lakshmipur 4, Jatiya Party-JP’s Anwar Hossain for Pirojpur 2 and M Ruhul Amin for Kurigram 4.
Besides, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam sent a letter to the EC on Sunday informing that a total of 26 candidates from eight registered parties of the BNP-led alliance would use BNP’s electoral symbol ‘sheaf of paddy’.
The 26 contestants include seven from Gano Forum, four each from Liberal Democratic Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD and Krishak Sramik Janata League, three from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam,  two from Khelafat Majlish, and one each from Bangladesh Kalyan Party and Bangladesh Jatiya Party -BJP.
LDP chairman Oli Ahmed, however, will contest with his own party symbol ‘Umbrella’ for Chattogram-14.
The seven Gano Forum contestants are Subrata Chowdhury for Dhaka 6, Mostofa Mohsin Montu for Dhaka 7, Sultan Mohammed Mansur Ahmed for Moulvibazar 2, Reza Kibria for Habiganj 1, AHM Khalequzzaman for Mymensingh 8, AMSA Amin for Kurigram 2 and Abu Sayeed for Pabna 1.
The four LDP contenders are Syed Mahmud Morshed for Mymensingh 10, Redwan Ahmed for Cumilla 7, M Shahadat Hossain for Lakshmipur 1 and Nurul Alam for Chattogram 7.
The four JSD candidates are ASM Abdur Rob for Lakshmipur 4, Abdul Malek Ratan for Cumilla 4, Shahiduddin Mahmud Swapan for Dhaka 18 and Muhammad Saiful Islam for Kishoreganj 3.
The four KSJL candidates are Kader Siddiqui’s daughter Kuri Siddiqui for Tangail 8, Liakat Ali for Tangail 4, Iqbal Siddiqui for Gazipur 3 and Monzurul Islam for Natore 1.
The three Jamiat-e Ulema-e-Islam contestants are Monir Hossain for Narayanganj 4, M Shahinur Pasha Chowdhury for Sunamganj 3 and Ubaidullah Faruk for Sylhet 5.
The two Khelafat Majlish candidates are Abdul Basit Azad for Habiganj 2 and Ahmed Abdul Kader for Habiganj 4.
One BJP candidate is its chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partha for Dhaka 17 and one Kalyan Party contestant is its chairman Syed Muhammad Ibrahim for Chattogram 5.
According to a letter of Jatiya Party, the party will contest the polls for 29 constituencies as a partner of the Awami League-led alliance, while for 143 other parliamentary seats independently.
On Sunday, a Jatiya Party delegation, led its presidium member SM Foysal Chisti, submitted a list of its candidates to the EC saying that all 172 JP candidates would contest with the party symbol ‘plough’ in the elections.
The 29 JP candidates who will contest the polls under the AL-led alliance are HM Ershad for Rangpur 3, Raushon Ershad for Mymensingh 4, GM Quader for Lalmonirhat 3, Moshiur Rahman Ranga for Rangpur 1, Rana Mohammad Sohel for Nilphamari 3, Ahsan Adilur Rahman for Nilphamari 4, AKM Mostafizur Rahman for Kurigram 1, Panir Uddin Ahmed for Kurigram 2, Shamim Haider Patwary for Gaibandha 1, Shariful Islam Jennah for Bogura 2, Nurul Islam Talukder for Bogura 3, Nurul Islam Omar for Bogura 6, Altaf Ali for Bogura 7, Golam Kibria Tipu for Barishal 3, Nasrin Jahan Ratna for Barishal 6, Rustum Ali Faraji for Patuakhali 3, Shafiullah Al Monir for Tangail 5, Fakhrul Imam for Mymensingh 8, Mujibul Haque Chunnu for Kishoreganj 3, Syed Abu Hossain Babla for Dhaka 4, Kazi Firoze Rashid for Dhaka 6, Liakat Hossain Khoka for Narayanganj 3, Selim Osman for Narayanganj 5, Pir Fazlur Rahman for Sunamganj 4, Yahya Chowdhury  for Sylhet 2, Ziaul Haque Mridha for Brahmanbaria 2, Masud Uddin Chowdhury for Feni 3, M Noman for Lakshmipur 2 and Anisul Islam Mahmud for Chattogram 5.
Of the other parties, Communist Party of Bangladesh submitted its list of 74 single candidates, Socialist Party of Bangladesh submitted its list of 46 candidates and Inu’s JSD submitted its list of eight candidates.
On November 29, a total of 2,567 party candidates, including 281 from Awami League and 696 from BNP, and 498 independent aspirants, including AL and BNP rebels, submitted nomination papers.
On December 2, the returning officers accepted 2,279 nomination papers and rejected 786, including 141 of BNP and 3 of ruling Awami League candidates.
After the EC’s hearing at its electoral tribunal, 243 aspirants including BNP’s 78 and AL’s 2 got back their candidature in the three-day hearing from December 6 at Nirbachon Bhaban in the capital.
In Dhaka city, a total of twenty-three candidates for 15 constituencies withdrew their nominations submitting applications to the office of Dhaka returning officer at Segunbagicha, leaving 148 to contest the polls.
There were 171 valid candidates for the 15 constituencies – Dhaka 6 to 20 – and the unwilling candidates were supposed to apply for withdrawing their nominations on Sunday. 
The 23 candidates include two from Awami League, six from BNP, six from JSD, two from BNF, one each from Gono Forum, Jatiya Party, Jatiya Oikya Front, Khelafat Majlish, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh and one independent candidate.
Dhaka divisional commissioner KM Ali Azam, also the returning officer of Dhaka, told reporters that 23 candidates withdrew their nomination during the stipulated time, 5:00pm, on Sunday.
He said the candidates who were given party endorsement but failed to obtain party symbol allocation letter would ultimately lose their candidatures as party candidate automatically.
Beside, sending letters to EC, BNP’s alliance partner National Democratic Party informed that five of its candidates would contest the polls with their own electoral symbol as BNP did not share any seat with the party.
Two other partners of BNP, Bangladesh Kalyan Party and Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP in separate letters informed the EC that one each of their candidates would be in the race with their party symbols while BNP shared one each seats with the parties.
Ruling AL alliance partner Bangladesh National Awami Party-NAP in a letter told the EC that three of its contestants would participate in the polls with its own symbol as AL did not share any seat with the alley.
Another AL partner Inu-led Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal in its letter said that the party’s five of its candidates would contest the polls alongside the three seats shared with AL-led 14 party alliance.
Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh in a letter said that its 25 contestants would be in the polls with its electoral symbol while AL shared three seats with the party.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net