BNP Joint General Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi collects the nomination papers on behalf of Khaleda Zia.
Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman are somewhat set to retain their chairperson and senior vice-chairperson posts of the BNP as they seemingly face no contest in the elections to be held during the party’s upcoming National Council.
No-one else from the BNP has collected the nomination papers to join the fray.
Though Wednesday was the last day to collect the nomination papers, senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan, who is the election’s returning officer, is not yet sure about uncontested re-election of Khaleda and Tarique.
He told reporters they will scrutinise the nomination papers of the two first after those are submitted on Mar 4.
“Mar 6 is the last day to withdraw nominations. If anyone withdraws, he or she cannot be elected. So, we’ll have to wait until Mar 6afternoon (to presume any outcome),” he said.
The next council is slated for Mar 19. The schedule for the elections to the two posts was announced on Feb 29.
Khaleda became the chairperson when she joined politics after her husband Ziaur Rahman’s assassination in 1981. Under her leadership, the party came to power and formed government twice.
During its last council in 2009, Khaleda was re-elected to lead the BNP.
It had also then anointed her son Tarique to the newly created post of senior vice-chairperson. Earlier, when he joined politics he had been made a senior joint secretary general of the party.
Last month, the party amended its charter to make provision for holding balloting to the senior vice-chairperson post.
But the charter already had a provision for choosing the chairperson through an election.
On Wednesday morning, BNP Joint General Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi collected the nomination papers on behalf of Khaleda.
Another Joint Secretary General Mohammad Shahjahan picked up the papers on Tarique’s behalf later in the afternoon.
After the time ended, Nazrul Islam Khan confirmed reporters that no other member of the party collected the papers.
Anyone at least 30 years of age and a registered paying member of the party could have run for election.
Source: Bd news24