Nusrat’s nomination valid: EC

The Election Commission yesterday declared the nomination paper of Nusrat Tabassum, joint convener of the National Citizen Party, valid for a reserved women’s seat in the 13th National Parliament under the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance.

Confirming the development, Returning Officer and Election Commission Joint Secretary Md Moin Uddin Khan told The Daily Star yesterday that Nusrat’s nomination paper was scrutinised at 11:00am and subsequently declared valid.

“Her [Nusrat’s] nomination will be placed before the Election Commission tomorrow [today]. The commission will examine the legal aspects and decide the next course of action,” he added.

Earlier on April 8, the EC declared the election schedule for the 50 reserved women’s seats, with April 21 as the submission deadline for nomination papers.

On April 21, Nusrat submitted her papers to the EC’s dispatch branch at 4:19pm -- 19 minutes past the deadline.

Consequently, the returning officer refused to accept her submission.

Nusrat later moved the High Court. On April 27, the HC directed the EC to accept her nomination paper.

On April 29, the EC issued a circular saying that Nusrat’s nomination paper was accepted and the scrutiny process was scheduled for yesterday.