Staff correspondent 

The Election Commission has collected information about Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, for her inclusion in the voter list.

EC officials said her information was gleaned during the recent door-to-door data collection in Dhaka.

“Zubaida Rahman’s information has been gathered under the ongoing voter list updating programme,” EC senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed told the media on Monday.

He said a name is included in the final voter list on completion of the entire updating process following the data collection and registration.

As per electoral laws, a person must be a registered voter to contest in any election. In the case of the parliamentary election, a voter can contest elections from any constituency in the country.

The photograph-based voter registration process began in 2008, when Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman were in London as they left Bangladesh for London on September 11, 2008 and they have been living there since then.

Zubaida Rahman departs for London

But on May 06 last, Zubaida returned to Bangladesh accompanying BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia after the latter’s medical treatment in London. She left for London again on June 5 last.

EC officials collected Zubaida’s personal information in Dhaka before Eid-ul-Azha.

According to the law, the draft voter list must be published by January 2 next year, with the final list due by March 2. However, if the next general election is held in February, the Election Commission is considering amending the law to finalise the list earlier.

Zubaida, a physician by profession, was born on May 18, 1972, in Dakshin Surma Upazila of Sylhet District. After passing her higher secondary examinations with distinction, she went on to study at Dhaka Medical College. She married Tarique Rahman on February 3, 1994.

Zubaida passed the MBBS examination with distinction and began her career as a government doctor through the BCS in 1995, securing first place in the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS-Health) examination.