A total of 645 appeal applications have been filed with the Election Commission challenging the decisions of returning officers regarding the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers for the 13th Parliamentary Election.
Vast majority of the appeals have been submitted against the rejection of nomination papers, while at least 10 of them challenged the acceptance of nomination papers of rival candidates, said EC officials.
Candidates submitted their appeals at 10 regional booths set up at the Election Building in Agargaon, Dhaka, often accompanied by their lawyers.
The receiving of the appeal applications continued from 5 to 9 January.
The Election Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will conduct hearings of the appeals at the basement of the Election Commission building from today till January 18. Each day, hearings will begin at 10:00am and continue in two sessions until 4pm.
Appeals will be heard in the order in which they were submitted, and around 70 appeals are expected to be heard each day, according to reliable EC sources.
Earlier, after scrutiny of nomination papers, the respective returning officers rejected the candidacies of 723 individuals.
The total number of valid candidates stands at 1,842.
