Reserved women's seat poll: EC to follow HC order on Nusrat’s nomination

The Election Commission (EC) today said it will comply with a High Court directive regarding the nomination of Nusrat Tabassum, joint convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), for the reserved women’s seat in the 13th National Parliament.

Confirming that Nusrat’s nomination paper is in EC’s possession, officials said the commission will not appeal the court’s decision and is awaiting the written order from the High Court before taking further steps.

The deadline for submitting nomination papers for the 50 reserved women’s seats was April 21, with submissions accepted until 4:00 pm. Nusrat, however, submitted her papers 19 minutes late.

The High Court yesterday directed the EC to accept Nusrat’s nomination for the reserved seats.

Asked about the commission’s stance, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told The Daily Star, “We will implement the court’s order. We will not go for an appeal because we were not made a party in the case.”

When asked whether Nusrat’s nomination would be accepted, Masud said, “Her papers are with the commission. Once the court’s written order arrives, we will act accordingly. Until then, we will not take any steps.”

Regarding the matter, Md Moin Uddin Khan, returning officer for the reserved women’s seats and EC joint secretary, told The Daily Star, “We have not yet received the court’s order. There are many technical aspects involved.”

Asked whether Nusrat’s papers were officially received, Moin Uddin said, “They were recorded by the EC. Since they were submitted late, they were kept in the dispatch branch. I received them later.”