EC holds final day of appeal hearings, Chhatra Dal stationed outside

The student wing of the BNP is protesting after accusing the election regulators of bias

Sunday is the final day of hearings on appeals filed against returning officers’ decisions during the scrutiny of nomination papers for the 13th parliamentary election.

The hearing began at 10:30am at the Election Building in Agargaon, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.

Election Commission officials said hearings will be held on nearly 50 appeal applications on the final day. Over the past eight days, 396 candidates have had their candidacies restored. At the same time, the commission has scrapped the candidacies of four aspirants who had earlier been declared valid by returning officers.

After returning officers rejected 723 nomination papers between Dec 30 and Jan 4, the number of valid candidates stood at 1,842. Of those whose nominations were cancelled, 645 filed appeals with the EC between Jan 5 and 9.

CHHATRA DAL STATIONED OUTSIDE

About 200 leaders and activists of Chhatra Dal are conducting a sit-in in front of the Nirbachan Bhaban, raising various allegations including accusations of bias against the EC over postal ballots.

Chhatra Dal President Rakibul Islam Rakib said, “The main issue today is the ballot paper. We observed that such activities were carried out because the influence and clout of a particular political group, and that those sitting [in the EC] are directly instigating and backing these incidents. Although we have learnt through the media that they may change their decision, we have not been officially informed of the decision.”

According to Chhatra Dal, their three allegations are:

• The Election Commission has made biased and questionable decisions on postal ballots, raising serious doubts about the neutrality of the election process.

• Under pressure from a particular political group, the EC is making rash and short-sighted decisions instead of responsible and rational ones, calling into question the commission’s independence and professionalism.

• Under the direct influence and interference of a specific political party, the EC has issued an unprecedented and controversial gazette regarding the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Students’ Union election, which is an ominous sign for democratic practices at universities.