BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has officially relinquished his position as the representative of Bogura-6 in parliament after winning in two constituencies during the 13th national parliamentary election, as confirmed by officials from the Election Commission.
Tarique Rahman has formally informed the Election Commission of his decision to retain the Dhaka-17 seat and vacate the Bogura-6 seat by submitting a written notification. The Election Commission Senior Secretary, Akhtar Ahmed, mentioned that the process is underway to declare the Bogura-6 seat vacant through a gazette notification.
As per Article 19(2) of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) from 1972, any candidate elected from multiple constituencies must notify the Election Commission within 30 days of the gazette publication about which seat they intend to keep. Failure to comply allows the commission to declare one seat valid while leaving the others vacant at its discretion.
During the election in Bogura-6, Tarique secured a significant victory with 216,284 votes, surpassing his opponent Abidur Rahman Sohel from Jamaat-e-Islami, who received 97,626 votes. In Dhaka-17, Tarique emerged victorious with 72,699 votes in a closely contested race against Jamaat candidate SM Khaliduzzaman, who garnered 68,300 votes.
According to the RPO regulations, a vacant parliamentary seat must be filled through a by-election within 90 days of its declaration. Therefore, the Election Commission is obligated to organize a by-poll for Bogura-6 after completing the gazette formalities.
The 13th parliamentary election took place on February 12 across 299 constituencies, with the polling in Sherpur-3 being canceled due to the death of a Jamaat candidate. The EC is now tasked with conducting a new election in Sherpur-3 alongside the by-election for Bogura-6.
Meanwhile, Tarique Rahman has stepped down from his role as the acting editor and publisher of the Bangla-language newspaper, Dainik Dinkal. Atiqur Rahman Rumon, the convenor of Amra BNP Poribar, has been appointed as his replacement.
