Dhaka: The Election Commission (EC) today began the appeal proceedings over the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, a notification issued on Sunday night revealed that a total of 1,842 nomination papers were found valid while 723 were rejected across 300 parliamentary constituencies. The notification was signed by Director General of the National Identity Registration Wing and Convener of the Central Coordination Committee of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad Election A S M Humayun Kabir.
Appeals can be filed with the EC from January 5 to January 9 until 5:00pm as per the election schedule. Aggrieved candidates, banks or financial institutions, government agencies, or any person duly authorised in writing by a candidate are eligible to submit an appeal within this timeframe.
The EC’s data highlights regional statistics: in Rangpur, 219 nomination papers were valid and 59 rejected for 33 seats. Rajshahi had 185 valid and 74 rejected for 39 seats. Khulna saw 196 valid and 79 rejected for 36 seats. Barishal had 131 valid and 31 rejected for 21 seats. Mymensingh recorded 199 valid and 112 rejected for 38 seats. Dhaka had 309 valid and 133 rejected for 41 seats. Faridpur reported 96 valid and 46 rejected for 15 seats. Sylhet had 110 valid and 36 rejected for 19 seats. Cumilla reported 259 valid and 97 rejected for 35 seats. Chattogram had 138 valid and 56 rejected for 23 seats.
The EC stated that the deadline for filing appeals against Returning Officers’ decisions following the scrutiny of nomination papers is January 9, with appeals to be resolved between January 10 and January 18. An appeal centre has been established at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka, with 10 booths set up on a regional basis to receive appeals.
Booth No 1 will receive appeals from Khulna region districts, Booth No 2 for Rajshahi, Booth No 3 for Rangpur, Booth No 4 for Chattogram, Booth No 5 for Cumilla, Booth No 6 for Sylhet, Booth No 7 for Dhaka, Booth No 8 for Mymensingh, Booth No 9 for Barishal, and Booth No 10 for Faridpur.
The referendum and the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election are scheduled for February 12, 2026.