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BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has set off for the Election Commission headquarters to register as a voter after visiting the graves of slain Inquilab Moncho leader Osman Hadi and National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
His motorcade departed from the National Poet’s Mausoleum complex at Dhaka University around 11:40 am on Saturday.
Tarique travelled in a white SUV, having used a bulletproof bus during his movements over the previous two days, bdnews24.com reports.
At the Election Commission, he is expected to submit fingerprints, iris scans and other biometric information as part of the voter registration process. ASM Humayun Kabir, head of the National Identity Registration Wing, said it would take “one day at most” for Tarique to receive his national identity card.
Registration as a voter is a legal requirement for contesting parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, although candidates may register in any constituency to meet the condition.
The deadline for collecting and submitting nomination papers for the February 12 general election is December 29.
Nomination papers have already been collected on behalf of Tarique for the Bogura-6 constituency, with the required documents to be submitted at the time of filing.
Tarique returned to Bangladesh earlier this week after spending more than 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom. On Friday, he visited the grave of his father, BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman, before travelling to Savar to pay tribute to the fallen heroes of the 1971 Liberation War at the National Memorial.