The Election Commission (EC) has invalidated Monira Sharmin’s nomination for the women’s reserved seat election to the 13th National Parliament on May 12. Sharmin, a retired government official and National Citizen Party (NCP) leader, did not meet the requirement of being retired for three years from government service. Despite this decision, she has the option to appeal to the EC regarding her candidacy status.
Following the cancellation, one of the 50 reserved women’s seats is now vacant, which will be re-opened for participation by all political parties and alliances.
Monira Sharmin expressed her intention to appeal the EC’s decision, emphasizing her belief that the rule does not apply to her as a former 10th-grade officer who served in a bank.
The announcement of the cancellation was made by Returning Officer Md Moin Uddin Khan, the EC Joint Secretary, at the EC office in Agargaon, Dhaka. This occurred during the final day of scrutinizing the 53 nomination papers submitted for the reserved seats over the two-day period.
Moin Uddin Khan clarified that Monira Sharmin’s documents had deficiencies during the scrutiny process, leading to the cancellation based on the legal provisions concerning reserved women’s seats and the Representation of the People Order (RPO). According to Article 12(1)(c) of the RPO, individuals employed in statutory public authorities must wait three years after resignation or retirement before contesting elections.
If a seat remains vacant within the designated timeframe, as per the Reserved Women’s Seat Act, 2004, it will be reopened for all alliances to participate. The EC will make further announcements after the withdrawal process regarding the election procedures.
