Secretary General of a Jatiya Party faction Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary said that the country is currently passing through a crisis of electoral credibility, marked by voter apathy, insecurity among candidates and widespread political discouragement.
"There is no election atmosphere in the country. Voters are discouraged, candidates are suffering from insecurity.
Discouragement is being observed among the parties," he told journalists after attending appeal hearings at the Appeal Division of the Election Commission on Monday, January 12. A Jatiya Party delegation led by Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary was present at the Election Commission as part of the party's legal efforts to challenge the rejection of nomination papers of its candidates. The Secretary General attended the proceedings in his capacity as Convener of the Jatiya Party Appeal Support Committee. After the third day of hearings, he said that "in today's third day of appeal hearing, three out of five candidates of the Jatiya Party had their appeals granted, while the appeals of two candidates were rejected." He added that "the two candidates whose appeals were rejected will now seek legal remedy from the High Court."
According to the party, the appeal outcomes included the rejection of Md Jahangir Alam from National Seat No 228 Sunamganj 5 under Appeal No 141, S M Abdul Mannan from National Seat No 169 Manikganj 2 under Appeal No 158, Md Mamunur Rahim from National Seat No 135 Tangail 6 under Appeal No 167, and AKM Fazlul Haque from National Seat No 138 Jamalpur 1 under Appeal No 188. Only Md Abdur Rashid from National Seat No 108 Satkhira 4 had his appeal approved under Appeal No 208.
