Tarique Rahman, Acting Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), on Saturday visited the Election Commission of Bangladesh to register as a voter ahead of the country’s 13th parliamentary elections, scheduled for February 12.
Election officials said Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman applied online for voter enrolment under Dhaka-17 constituency (Ward 19, Dhaka North City Corporation). Rahman later appeared at the EC’s Election Training Institute to complete biometric formalities, including fingerprint and iris scans, according to The Daily Star.
Bangladesh Turmoil: Tarique Rahman registers himself as a voter
Hindus form the Bangladesh Minority Janta Party, the party to contest 91 of 300 seats in February polls@eriknjoka has more pic.twitter.com/zfb8i14tU2
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Director General of the National Identity Registration Wing, ASM Humayun Kabir, said their National Identity Cards would be issued within five to 24 hours after completion of the process.
Return amid political churn
Rahman’s voter registration comes days after his return to Bangladesh, ending over 17 years in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. His homecoming follows the 2024 ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina after mass protests, and the installation of an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus to oversee elections.
WATCH: Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s Tarique Rahman returned from nearly 17 years in exile, a homecoming the party hopes will energize supporters with Rahman poised to be the top contender for prime minister in the upcoming election https://t.co/jbt4HE72Rs pic.twitter.com/nLv7kphA7n
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The 58-year-old BNP leader—son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia—had left Bangladesh in 2008 amid legal cases and political pressure. Over the past year, higher courts acquitted him in several high-profile cases, including the 2004 grenade attack and the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, clearing the path for his political re-entry.
BNP eyes decisive comeback
Having steered BNP affairs from London for nearly two decades, Rahman’s return and voter enrolment are widely seen as a strategic signal of the party’s intent to contest the February polls aggressively, as Bangladesh enters a decisive phase of political transition.
