Appeal filed against BNP nominee for reserved women’s seat

An appeal has been lodged with the Election Commission (EC) challenging the nomination of BNP candidate Madhabi Marma for a reserved women’s seat in the Parliament.

The appeal was filed by Chandra Chakma, central joint secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, who alleged that Madhabi Marma is currently a member of the Bandarban Hill District Council.

According to Chandra, holding that post disqualifies Madhabi from contesting the seat, making her nomination unlawful.

Appeals against nomination papers for the reserved women’s seats are being accepted at the EC office in Agargaon, Dhaka, from 9:00am to 4:00pm today.

After submitting her appeal, Chandra Chakma said, “Madhabi Marma, as a member of the Bandarban Hill District Council, holds an office of profit. She submitted her nomination paper on April 21 without resigning or following proper legal procedures.”

She further added, “Legally, this makes her nomination invalid. I have requested the Chief Election Commissioner to take necessary steps to cancel it.”

Chandra also mentioned that she herself had sought BNP’s nomination for the reserved women’s seat as she is the central joint secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal.

Rejecting the allegations, Madhabi Marma claimed she had resigned from her post on April 20.

“I have already resigned from that position and submitted copies of my resignation to the relevant authorities,” Madhabi told The Daily Star this afternoon.

When asked whether she mentioned her resignation in the affidavit submitted to the EC, Madhabi said the nomination form did not contain any section for such information.

Meanwhile, the Bandarban Hill District Council authorities confirmed that Madhabi submitted her resignation letter on April 20, but they formally accepted it today.

Council’s executive officer Md Abul Monsur told The Daily Star around 3:30pm that Madhabi had resigned from her post.

Asked when the resignation took effect, he said, “I don’t know that. But I received the copy today.”

The Election Commission announced the schedule for the reserved women’s seat election on April 8. The deadline for submitting nomination papers was April 21.

Earlier, on April 20, BNP nominated 36 candidates for the reserved women’s seats. Madhabi Marma was among those on BNP's list.