Dhaka: The fifth day of the appeal hearing on candidacy for the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election is currently underway, beginning this morning at 10 am. The hearing is taking place at the auditorium of the Election Commission (EC) building in Agargaon and addresses the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers by returning officers.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, today’s session will cover 100 appeals, specifically numbered 281 to 380. The commission plans to hear appeals 281 to 330 from 10 am to 1 pm, followed by a lunch break, and will resume with appeals 331 to 380 from 2 pm to 5 pm. The full commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin, is overseeing the proceedings.
The EC has outlined a detailed schedule for the remaining appeals. Hearings for appeals numbered 381 to 480 are scheduled for January 15, from 10 am to 5 pm. Subsequent hearings for appeals 481 to 510 and any pending cases will occur on January 16, from 3 pm to 5 pm. The process will continue with appeals 511 to 610 on January 17, and finally, appeals 611 to 645 along with remaining pending cases will be concluded on January 18.
On the previous day, the fourth day of hearings, 53 candidates successfully regained their nominations. EC Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed informed BSS that 70 appeals were heard, out of which 53 were accepted and 17 were rejected.
EC officials have reported that over the first four days, a total of 203 candidates have had their nominations reinstated, with 51 on the first day, 58 on the second, 41 on the third, and 53 on the fourth day. In total, 645 appeals have been lodged with the EC concerning the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers for this election. Initially, on January 4, returning officers had invalidated 723 nomination papers after scrutiny.
While 70 appeals were processed daily during the initial four days, the EC has increased the number of hearings from today onward, with 100 appeals scheduled daily, excluding Friday.