The returning officer has declared the nomination paper of National Citizen Party joint-convener Nusrat Tabassum valid for a reserved seat for women in the parliament.

Returning officer Md Moin Uddin Khan confirmed the development to reporters on Saturday following scrutiny of nomination papers at the Election Commission in the capital.

The deadline for submission of nomination papers expired at 4:00pm on April 21.

Nusrat Tabassum had attempted to submit her papers shortly after the cut-off time, but they were not accepted at the time by the returning officer.

Subsequently, she sought legal recourse, prompting the court to direct the Election Commission to accept her nomination and proceed in accordance with the law.

In compliance with the order, her papers were received and later validated following due scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Thursday evening published the official gazette declaring 49 candidates elected to reserved women’s seats in the 13th parliament.

The list includes 36 candidates from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, 12 from an 11-party electoral alliance comprising Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP, and one independent candidate.

The Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat on Saturday announced that the oath-taking ceremony for newly elected members to the reserved women’s seats of the 13th JS would be held at 9:00pm on Sunday.