The candidature of jailed former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia, who has filed her nomination papers for the upcoming general election in the country from three constituencies, has been rejected Sunday by the Election Commission due to her convictions in two graft cases.
The Commission's decision came four days after the Bangladesh High Court ruled that a person jailed for more than two years cannot contest polls, effectively ruining Zia's chance to participate in the December 30 polls.
Zia is serving jail terms in two graft cases involving charities named after her slain husband Ziaur Rahman. She had filed nomination papers from three constituencies — two from northwestern Bogra and one from southeastern Feni, but the returning officers of the two districts scrapped her nominations as she was convicted by the court, an EC spokesperson said.
