Editorial Desk: Asif Mahmud, an advisor to the interim government, resides in the Minto Road government residences in Dhaka. His ancestral home is in Muradnagar Upazila of Cumilla district, where he was previously a voter. He has now suddenly applied to change his voter area and become a voter in the Dhaka-10 constituency.

On Sunday, he told the media that he applied to change his voter area because he intends to participate in the upcoming national elections from Dhaka.

According to the Election Commission of Bangladesh’s law, there is no legal requirement to be a voter of a specific area to participate in national parliamentary elections. Therefore, the question arises as to why he applied to become a voter in Dhaka, leaving Cumilla.

In response to this question, Mr. Mahmud stated that he plans to reside in the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka after resigning from his position as an advisor to the interim government.

According to the rules of the Election Commission, if a voter wants to change their voter area, they must have their own house or property in that area, or, in the case of renters, provide four types of information including a rent receipt.

However, there are also allegations of violation of the Election Commission’s provisions in this case against Asif Mahmud.

Although Advisor Asif Mahmud has been residing in the government residence on Minto Road in Dhaka for over a year, he mentioned in the voter form that he has been living in a house in the New Market area of Dhaka for the past eight years.

Despite attempts to reach Advisor Asif Mahmud via phone and messages for his comments on these issues, he did not respond.

After allegations of violating voter regulations regarding Asif Mahmud’s voter area change, the Dhanmondi Upazila Election Officer was contacted.

Upazila Election Officer Wajahat Noor told BBC Bangla, “This is entirely his personal matter. I cannot comment on this.”