EC restores 53 aspirants' candidacy on 4th day

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday accepted 53 appeals from the aspirants and reinstated their nominations on the fourth day of hearings against Returning Officers’ decisions for the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election.

Confirming the information, EC Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said a total of 70 appeals were reviewed during the day, with 53 approved and 17 rejected. 

With the latest decisions, the number of candidates who have regained eligibility through the appeal process has climbed to 203 over four days.

The hearings took place at the EC Bhaban in Dhaka’s Agargaon area, running from 10:00am to 4:00pm with a one-hour break. 

The full commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, presided over the session. Appeals numbered from 211 to 280 were considered on Tuesday.

Earlier in the process, the commission approved 52 appeals on the first day while rejecting 15, including one appeal challenging the acceptance of a nomination. On the second day, 58 appeals were allowed, seven rejected and six kept pending. The third day saw 41 appeals accepted, 24 rejected and four deferred.

One appeal, numbered 161 of 2026, was not heard due to the suspension of the election process in the Pabna-2 constituency. In another case, independent candidate Shakila Farzana of Chittagong-5 withdrew her appeal.

EC Director for Public Relations and Information Md Ruhul Amin Mallick said the appeal hearings will resume at 10:00am on Saturday and continue until January 18.

In total, 645 appeals were filed with the Election Commission challenging Returning Officers’ rulings on nomination papers. On January 4, the final day of scrutiny, election officials declared 1,842 nomination papers valid out of 2,568 submissions across the country’s 300 constituencies, while 723 were ruled invalid.