The Election Commission (EC) is conducting the eighth day of appeal hearings regarding the candidacy decisions made by returning officers for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum.
The proceedings, presided over by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin and the full commission, began at 10am on Saturday at the Basement-2 auditorium of the EC Bhaban in Agargaon.
The hearings are expected to continue until 5pm. A total of 100 appeals are scheduled for hearing for this day.
According to EC data, 353 candidates have successfully regained their candidature during the last seven days of hearings after their initial disqualifications were overturned.
In contrast, the commission has cancelled the nominations of two candidates who were previously declared valid during the initial scrutiny phase. The final day for hearing appeals is scheduled for Sunday.
The backdrop of these hearings follows the primary scrutiny on 4 January, where returning officers validated 1,842 nomination papers out of 2,568 submitted across 300 constituencies. In response to these decisions, a total of 645 appeals were filed with the Election Commission.
Following the conclusion of the appeals process, the EC will proceed with the final stages of the electoral roadmap.
On 21 January, the final candidate list will be published alongside the allocation of symbols. The official election campaigning period is set to run from 22 January until 7:30am on 10 February. Finally, polling day will take place on 12 February, with voting scheduled from 7:30am to 4:30pm.
