EC clears 1,842 candidates, blocks 723 from standing in election

EC will announce appeal decisions between Jan 10 and 18

Returning officers have approved the nomination papers of 1,842 candidates for the parliamentary elections, while rejecting those of 723 others.

Those whose nomination papers were rejected can file appeals with the Election Commission (EC) starting from Monday.

The majority of those whose nominations were scrapped had submitted their papers as independent candidates.

Some of these nominations were barred due to discrepancies in the list of 1 percent supporting voters, while others were dropped for providing incomplete or false information in their affidavits.

Nominations were also postponed for other reasons, including the concealment of criminal case information, dual citizenship, loan and utility bill defaults, and complications over party certification.

Just as an appeal can be filed to regain candidacy, one may also approach the EC to lodge a complaint challenging an individual’s selection.

A panel, chaired by the chief and four election commissioners, will announce appeal decisions from Jan 10 to 18.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said if any candidate, bank, financial institution, or government service provider is aggrieved by any decision made by a returning officer, they may file an appeal with the commission.

In such cases, the indignant candidate, or a person or institution formally authorised in writing by the entrant, may submit the appeal following the procedure between Jan 5 and 5pm on Jan 9.

HOW TO APPEAL

Senior Assistant Secretary of the EC Legal Affairs Wing Mainul Islam has already sent a letter to the returning officers outlining the procedure for candidates and representatives interested in filing an appeal.

To appeal to the EC, a certified copy containing the selection decision must be collected from the returning officer. On this point:

• Between Jan 5-9, the appeal application must be submitted in the form of a memorandum addressed to the commission.
• When filing the appeal, a statement containing the date and an attested copy of acceptance or rejection of the nomination, the grounds for the appeal must be submitted.
• A total of seven copies of the appeal application, including one original, must be submitted.
• The plea must be submitted at the designated booth for the respective regions at the EC’s appeal reception centre.
• An application must be submitted to obtain a copy of the appeal authority's decision or judgement. Sample copies of this application form can be collected from the central booth for filing appeals.
• The appellant or a person nominated on their behalf will be able to collect the copy of the appeal verdict.

District-based electoral booths for the 300 seats have been set up outside the EC headquarters in Agargaon to receive appeal applications.

CEC AMM Nasir Uddin had previously announced the election schedule on Dec 11.

According to the declared schedule for the vote on Feb 12, the deadline for submitting nomination papers was Dec 29.

This time, a total of 2,568 nomination papers from both party-affiliated and independent candidates were submitted for the 300 seats.

Three nomination papers, however, for the three seats of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia remained outside the scrutiny process due to her death.