Hero Alom appeals against scrapped candidacy

Bogura-8 election hopeful Ashraful Alom, popularly known as Hero Alom, has expressed hope that the Election Commission will restore his candidacy for the race, allowing him to contest the upcoming 12th national parliamentary polls.

Alom, who is a nominee of the Bangladesh Congress, made the remarks after arriving at the EC building in Dhaka to lodge an appeal against his rejected nomination paper on Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

“A small lapse has been made this time. I am hopeful of getting my candidacy back.”

Alom pointed out that he had faced a similar situation on three previous occassions, noting that the High Court had then reinstated his candidacy. He is hopeful of a similar outcome this time as well.

Alom had previously participated in the 2018 general elections, as well as the by-election for the Bogura-6 seat earlier this year. His most recent run as an independent candidate for the Dhaka-17 constituency also made headlines after he was attacked during the bypoll.

His nomination papers for each of those elections were initially rejected by the commission due to issues related to securing the signatures of one percent of the each constituency's voter base -- a requirement to run as an independent candidate.

On the first two occasions, his candidacy was restored by the High Court, while the EC allowed him to take part in the Dhaka-17 by-election following an appeal.

This time, Alom was nominated by the Bangladesh Congress to compete for the Bogura-4 seat. However, during the screening process, the returning officers found that he had not filled out the nomination form properly.

Despite being a candidate of the Bangladesh Congress Party, Alom filled out his nomination papers as an independent. In the section for the political party, he wrote 'not applicable', and instead of submitting the original copy of the party nomination, he provided a photocopy.

Additionally, he failed to provide a list of signatures from one percent of the constituency's registered voters, which is a requirement to qualify as an independent candidate, according to officials. Moreover, his nomination papers allegedly lacked a wealth statement backed by an affidavit.

Responding to a question about challenges he expects in the election, the YouTube star said he has always gone through challenges and he is ready to face them again.

A total of 2,716 nomination papers were submitted for 300 parliamentary seats across Bangladesh ahead of the 12th national elections. The returning officers declared 1,985 of the nomination papers valid and cancelled 731 ones during the screening process.

Appeals against the decisions made by returning officers can be lodged until Dec 9, with the EC resolving them from Dec 10-15. Candidates have until Dec 17 to withdraw their nominations.

The returning officers will allocate symbols on Dec 18, with a deadline for the election campaign until 8 am on Jan 5. Election day is Jan 7.