The Election Commission (EC) has collected personal information from Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, for her inclusion in Bangladesh`s updated voter list.
According to EC sources, the data was gathered as part of the nationwide voter list update, which involves door-to-door information collection.
Zubaida Rahman was not previously registered as a voter in Bangladesh. In 2008, when Bangladesh introduced its first voter list with photographs, both Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman were living in London.
The couple left Bangladesh for the UK on September 11, 2008, and have not returned until recently.
On May 6 of this year, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia returned to Bangladesh from medical treatment in London, accompanied by Zubaida Rahman.
Before the Eid-ul-Azha festival, EC officials completed the data collection and voter registration process for Zubaida in Dhaka. She later returned to London on June 5.
When asked, Akhtar Ahmed, Senior Secretary of the EC Secretariat, confirmed that Zubaida`s information was collected during the ongoing voter list update.
Although the data has been collected, inclusion in the final voter list will only occur after the entire update process is completed.
According to election laws, the draft voter list is scheduled for publication on January 2 of the coming year, and the final list on March 2.
However, if the national election is held in February, the EC may amend the voter list law to finalize it earlier.
Zubaida Rahman, a physician by profession, hails from South Surma in Sylhet. While she has not been actively involved in politics, there is growing speculation that she might contest in the upcoming election.
Following her recent visit to Bangladesh, political discussions intensified within the BNP`s Sylhet circles.
She was warmly welcomed in Sylhet, with celebratory processions and city-wide poster campaigns calling for her candidacy in the prestigious Sylhet-1 parliamentary seat.
According to election rules, to contest in the national parliamentary elections, a candidate must be a registered voter. A voter may contest from any constituency across the country.
