Dhaka, Jan. 3 -- Tasnim Jara, who is seeking to contest the Dhaka-9 parliamentary seat as an independent candidate after leaving the National Citizen Party (NCP), has said her nomination papers have been rejected by election officials.

Speaking to reporters outside the returning officer's office in Segunbagicha on Saturday, Jara said the decision was communicated to her around 11:30am.

Under Election Commission rules, independent candidates are required to submit verified signatures from at least 1 percent of registered voters in their constituency.

She said election officials randomly selected 10 voters from the list of registered voters submitted with her nomination papers for verification.

"Eight of those confirmed their signatures...