Barishal-4: Shammi fails to get back candidacy; Pankaj remains in the electoral race

Shammi Ahmed from the Barishal-4 constituency failed to get back her candidacy.

The Election Commission delivered the verdict after reviewing her appeal on Friday (15 December) morning.

The commission also upheld the candidacy of independent candidate Pankaj Nath in the constituency. 

On 4 December, EC cancelled the nomination of Awami League leader Shammi Ahmed for Barishal-4 (Hijla-Mehendiganj) in the upcoming Jatiya Sangsad polls over holding dual citizenship.

On 3 December, Pankaj alleged that Shammi, who is the international affairs secretary of the Awami League, holds citizenship for both Bangladesh and Australia.

In a similar fashion, Shammi alleged that Pankaj, in his wealth statement, hid his ownership of public transportation Bihanga Paribahan, which runs on several routes in Dhaka. 

Following the scrutiny of the allegations, Barishal Deputy Commissioner Shahidul Islam, who is also the returning officer for the district, announced the cancellation of Shammi's candidacy.

He said according to the Representation of the People Order, 1972, an election candidate cannot hold dual citizenship. Hence, Shammi's nomination has been cancelled.

A total of 2,716 nomination papers were filed in 300 seats for the upcoming polls. Among them, 731 nominations were cancelled by the returning officers.

The appeal process against the decision of the returning officers began on 5 December at the Election Commission building in the capital's Agargaon area. In the next three days, 419 appeals were filed with the EC.

The EC was scheduled to dispose of 100 petitions daily from 10-15 December. The 12th national election is slated to take place on 7 January 2024.