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Election regulators have yet to decide on the eligibility of Jatiya Party Co-Chairman ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader to run for the Patuakhali-1 (Sadar, Mirzaganj, and Dumki) parliamentary seat in the 12th national elections due to his failure to submit tax papers.
The candidate for the plough symbol allegedly owes nearly Tk 8.87 million in unpaid taxes, according to Md Nur Kutubul Alam, deputy commissioner and returning officer for Patuakhali.
A final decision on his candidacy will be made if the necessary documents are submitted by 4 pm on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.
Allegations of unpaid taxes were raised against Howlader as the applications for the four parliamentary seats in Patuakhali were being scrutinised at the deputy commissioner’s office on Sunday.
During the check, Patuakhali-21 Circle Assistant Tax Commissioner Md Masud Rana said that Howlader owed Tk 8.87 million in taxes in the Dhaka-8 constituency from 2000 to 2009.
In addition, he faces charges of evading taxes worth Tk 36.89 million between 2012-13 and 2018-19 in a case pending at the Appellate Tribunal.
The outstanding taxes would be paid by Sunday, a representative for Howlader said, citing the Jatiya Party leader. But the amount remained unpaid as of noon. The district’s returning officer deferred the decision on his candidacy to Monday.
Howlader previously represented the Patuakhali-1 seat in the 10th national parliament after securing the Jatiya Party’s nomination.
Meanwhile, the candidacy of Mohiuddin Mamun, the nominee from the Bangladesh Sangskritik Mukti Jote, is also suspended due to document-related issues, according to the returning officer’s office. He also has until 4 pm on Monday to submit the correct documents.
The candidacies of Nasir Uddin of the Bangladesh Congress and Mizanur Rahman of the Zaker Party were also scrapped due to defaulting on loans.