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Published : 10 Jan 2026, 11:52 AM
The Election Commission has begun hearing appeals against decisions made by returning officers during the scrutiny of nomination papers for the upcoming parliamentary election.
The hearings are taking place at the EC headquarters in Dhaka's Agargaon and are being chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
Candidates who have appealed, as well as their representatives, are attending Saturday's hearings.
A total of 645 appeals have been filed challenging the rejection or acceptance of nomination papers. The hearings are scheduled to continue until Jan 18.
The EC has published a timetable for the proceedings, with batches of appeals to be heard each day. It said rulings would be issued in stages, with decisions for hearings held between Jan 10-12, followed by further rulings on Jan 15 and 18.
The commission said the schedule could be revised depending on the number of appeals and other circumstances, and instructed both returning officers and appellants to attend with relevant documents.
Party-backed and independent candidates submitted more than 2,500 nomination papers for the 13th parliamentary election.
Following scrutiny between Dec 30 and Jan 4, returning officers rejected 723 candidacies.
That has left 1,842 candidates currently cleared to contest the election.
Under the election timetable, the deadline for candidates to withdraw is Jan 20. Electoral symbols will be allocated on Jan 21, with campaigning set to begin the following day.
Voting is due to take place on Feb 12.
