The Election Commission (EC) on Monday rejected the appeal of Jamaat-e-Islami candidate AKM Fazlul Haque, disqualifying him from the upcoming 13th National Parliament elections due to dual citizenship.
The decision was delivered following a hearing at the EC headquarters. Haque was seeking to contest from the Chattogram-9 (Kotwali-Bakaliya) constituency.
Earlier, on January 4, Returning Officer and Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Md. Ziauddin canceled Haque's nomination papers. Although Haque claimed in his affidavit that he had renounced his United States citizenship on December 28, election officials noted that he failed to provide any documentary evidence to support the claim.
In the same constituency, the nomination of BNP candidate Abu Sufian has been declared valid.
The EC is currently hearing a total of 645 appeals against the decisions of returning officers nationwide. These hearings, which began last Saturday, are scheduled to continue until January 18.
