Freedom fighter Aminul Haque, an independent candidate in Naogaon-2, passed away while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka early on Friday at the age of 75.

Aminul, former mayor of Nazipur municipality, was admitted to hospital on December 27 after he fell ill.

He is survived by his wife and a son.

His candidacy for the upcoming election was initially rejected by the local returning officer, but he got it back after filing an appeal with the High Court.

In a circular on December 3, the Election Commission said if any candidate died, voting in that seat would be suspended.

The directive states that if a validly nominated candidate dies or if the candidacy is cancelled per the provisions of articles 91(A) and 91(E) of the Representation of the People Order, the election proceedings of the respective constituencies must be cancelled through a public notification under Clause 1 of Article 17. Moreover, the action taken after that should be reported to the Election Commission immediately.

It also says the commission will announce a new schedule for voting in that constituency. However, those whose nomination papers were declared valid earlier need not submit fresh forms.

Md Golam Mawla, the deputy commissioner and returning officer of the area, said necessary steps would be taken following the rules and the media would be notified soon.