EC wraps up appeal hearings, decides fate of 65 candidates on final day

The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday concluded its nine-day appeal hearings, validating 65 candidates on the final day and bringing the total number of reinstated nominations to 410.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin maintained that the commission acted without bias throughout the lengthy proceedings.

Speaking to reporters after the session at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, the CEC said the commission had ensured fairness and inclusivity while strictly adhering to the law. "We showed no partiality in hearing appeals against the decisions of returning officers. Even independent candidates with minimal voter support were given due consideration. Participation was open to all, and the process was conducted in line with legal provisions," he said.

Nasir Uddin further assured that neither he nor any member of the commission had delivered judgments influenced by political considerations. "Every question was addressed transparently. I sincerely thank everyone for their cooperation during the hearings and hope for similar support in the days ahead," he added.

Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah acknowledged that some decisions were difficult. "In certain cases, we were compelled to validate candidates with outstanding loans because the law allows it, even though it caused us concern," he said.

On the final day, the EC cancelled the nominations of two BNP candidates. BNP nominee Abdul Gafur Bhuiya was disqualified in Comilla-10 due to dual citizenship, while Sarwar Alamgir lost his candidacy in Chattogram-2 following a High Court stay order. Earlier, on Saturday, the nomination of BNP candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munshi in Comilla-4 had also been cancelled over a defaulted loan.

At the same time, the hearings brought relief to several candidates. BNP's Mohammad Aslam Chowdhury retained his candidacy in Chattogram-4 after his appeal was dismissed. Independent candidate Latif Siddiqui of Tangail-4 also cleared the final hurdle as the EC rejected the appeal against his nomination.