Staff Reporter:
BNP-nominated candidate Eliza Zaman is set to be elected unopposed in the by-election to reserved women’s seat No. 23 in the 13th Parliament, as she is the lone candidate whose nomination paper was declared valid.
Eliza Zaman was the only aspirant to submit a nomination paper before the deadline expired on Monday afternoon, and the Election Commission published the list of the lone validly nominated candidate on Wednesday.
Her nomination paper was scrutinised on Tuesday, according to a notification signed by Md Moin Uddin Khan, returning officer for the reserved seats and EC joint secretary on Wednesday.
Eliza Zaman is also a joint convener of Pirojpur district BNP and the organising secretary for the Barishal division of the party’s women’s wing, Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal.
According to the Election Commission’s schedule, November 1 is the last date for withdrawal of candidature. Though voting is scheduled for November 12, the balloting will not be required.
Now Eliza Zaman is set to be declared elected unopposed without a formal vote if she does not quit the race by November 1.
Earlier, on October 1, BNP reserved-seat MP Ferdousy Ahmed Mishti resigned after being instructed to step down by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
The Parliament Secretariat issued a gazette notification declaring the seat vacant on the same day.
The development came amid allegations of her involvement in an attack, vandalism, looting and demolition at the Radda MCH-FP Centre, a maternal and child healthcare facility in Mirpur.
The health centre was attacked and vandalised around midnight, with allegations that ruling party leaders and activists at different levels were involved.
Mishti, however, denied any involvement in the incident.
