Jara to appeal against nomination cancellation

Dr Tasnim Jara, an independent candidate for the Dhaka-9 parliamentary constituency and a former leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has announced that she will appeal against the cancellation of her nomination paper.

The Dhaka District Returning Officer scrapped her nomination after scrutiny at around 11:30am on Saturday (January 3), citing discrepancies in voter information.

Speaking to reporters at the Divisional Commissioner’s office in Segunbagicha, Tasnim Jara said she had already begun the appeal process with the Election Commission (EC).

“The nomination paper I submitted as an independent candidate for Dhaka-9 has not been accepted at this stage. However, we will appeal. I have already started the process,” she said.

Later in the day, at around 5:00pm, Tasnim Jara addressed the issue in a post on her verified Facebook account, seeking to reassure her supporters.

“Many people are calling me in concern after the news of the nomination cancellation. I want to assure everyone that we are continuing our work with full enthusiasm,” she wrote.

She stressed that while democratic processes involve rules and regulations, their application must be fair and inclusive. “When public support for a candidate has been clearly expressed, attempts to exclude them from the election over minor technicalities do not align with representative democracy,” she added.

Explaining the grounds for rejection, Tasnim Jara said her nomination was invalidated due to discrepancies involving the voter information of two signatories among the required one percent of voters’ signatures for independent candidates.

In one case, she said, a voter from Khilgaon—an area that falls under both Dhaka-9 and Dhaka-11—mistakenly believed he was a Dhaka-9 voter after failing to find his voter number online. In the second case, she said, a voter relied on the address mentioned on the hard copy of the National Identity Card (NID), which indicated Dhaka-9, though Election Commission records showed otherwise.

Describing the cancellation as a challenge in her electoral journey, Tasnim Jara said she is prepared to contest the decision through legal means. “We are appealing today’s decision and will remain steadfast in exercising our democratic rights,” she said.

Tasnim Jara recently resigned from her post as senior joint member secretary of the NCP and announced her decision to contest the upcoming 13th parliamentary elections as an independent candidate. Her move followed internal differences within the party over its position on an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.