Ariful Haque Chowdhury's Nomination Valid in Sylhet, Two Others Suspended and One Cancelled

Influential BNP leader and former mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury breathed a sigh of relief in Sylhet politics. The Returning Officer declared his nomination paper valid after scrutiny for Sylhet-1 constituency. This announcement was made at the Deputy Commissioner's office on Saturday (January 03) morning. However, nomination of two other rival candidates for the same seat has been suspended and nomination of one independent candidate has been cancelled.

Arif's Reaction

After the nomination was validated, Ariful Haque Chowdhury told reporters, "Alhamdulillah, truth has won. A quarter wanted to trap me in a legal web, but they failed as all my papers were transparent." Thanking the people of Sylhet, he said from now on he would start full-scale election campaigning. His supporters expressed joy by distributing sweets.

Reasons for Suspension and Cancellation

The Returning Officer said the nomination of the Jatiya Party candidate was suspended due to ambiguity in his income tax statement. He has been asked to submit correct documents by tomorrow. On the other hand, the nomination of a person standing as an independent candidate was directly cancelled as major fraud was detected in his list of 1 percent voters.

Election Atmosphere

Election excitement has increased in this VIP seat of Sylhet as Ariful Haque Chowdhury's candidacy is confirmed. It is expected that his main contest will be with the ruling party candidate. Political analysts say Ariful's personal popularity combined with BNP's vote bank suggests a close fight here.

Law and Order Situation

Strict security measures were in place in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office since this morning centering the scrutiny phase. Police and Ansar members were in alert position. No untoward incident occurred. The Returning Officer called upon everyone to abide by the election code of conduct and warned that no chaos would be tolerated.