Dhaka, Wed Aug 13, 2025 – Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed has clarified that bank loan defaulters will be ineligible to contest in the upcoming February parliamentary elections, while cautioning that political parties could circumvent this rule through financial influence.
Speaking at the inauguration of the ‘U Pension App’ at the Secretariat on Wednesday, the adviser stated, “The Representation of the People Order 1972 clearly disqualifies loan defaulters from parliamentary membership. However, if political parties nominate candidates in exchange for money, there’s little the finance ministry can do.”
He cited former minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir’s five-year tenure despite being a loan defaulter as evidence of systemic loopholes, blaming stay orders and political patronage for undermining the law.
On black money in elections, Dr. Ahmed noted improvements in curbing illicit funding sources: “Previously, banks, industries and media were controlled by the same entities. Now, checks and balances exist.” However, he stressed the Election Commission must lead enforcement efforts.
Responding to opposition claims about election postponement, the adviser dismissed them as political rhetoric, recalling his own activist past: “We used to demand campus shutdowns – did they happen?”
Senior officials including Finance Secretary Md. Khairuzzaman Mozumder and NBR Chairman Md. Abdur Rauf Khan attended the event.
The remarks come after NCP coordinator Nasiruddin Pathwari claimed elections wouldn’t be held in February – a statement the government hasn’t officially addressed.