On the first day of appeals against the cancellation of nomination papers for the 13th parliamentary election, a total of 42 applications were filed with the Election Commission on Monday.
Of these, 41 appeals sought the restoration of candidacy, including one filed by Tasnim Jara, an independent candidate from the Dhaka-9 constituency and a recently resigned leader of National Citizen Party.
One appeal was filed seeking the cancellation of a candidate whose nomination had been declared valid.
For the upcoming election scheduled for February, 2,568 individuals submitted nomination papers, of which returning officers declared 1,842 valid, while the nominations of 723 candidates were cancelled.
Election Commission Public Relations Wing Director Md Ruhul Amin Mallik said that on the first day, three appeals were filed from the Rangpur region, five from Rajshahi, three from Khulna, one from Barishal, one from Mymensingh, 15 from Dhaka and seven from the Faridpur region.
No appeals were filed from the Sylhet region, while five were submitted from the Cumilla region and two from Chattogram, he added.
According to Election Commission sources, BNP candidate MA Hannan has filed an appeal seeking the cancellation of the candidacy of Syed AK Ekramuzzaman, an independent contender from the Brahmanbaria-1 constituency.
Ekramuzzaman had previously contested the 9th and 11th parliamentary elections as a BNP candidate but lost on both occasions. However, he won the 12th parliamentary election in 2024 as an independent candidate.
Meanwhile, candidates who filed appeals on the first day said their nominations had been cancelled on grounds including dual citizenship, concealment of information, and discrepancies in supporter voter details.
Some also raised objections over the mandatory requirement for independent candidates to secure the support of 1% of total voters, as well as allegations of insecurity during nomination submission and election-related activities.
Independent candidate Sohel Rana from the Rajbari-2 constituency said his nomination was cancelled because he failed to submit signatures from 1% of voters.
“There were attacks and incidents of looting when we were collecting signatures. That is why I could not complete the process,” he said.
After filing her appeal, Tasnim Jara said that within a day and a half, 5,000 people had voluntarily signed in her support.
“People organised booths on their own as volunteers. My supporters want me to be able to contest the election, and out of respect for them, I will continue this legal fight,” she said.
Her lawyer, Arman Hossain, told reporters that the list of 1% supporting voters submitted by them was fully accurate under the relevant law. He said the Election Commission website was not functioning at the time voter lists were being collected.
Regarding a voter whose signature was questioned, he said the voter’s ID card listed Dhaka-9 as the voting area, but verification was not possible due to technical limitations, which had led to the dispute.
Abdul Hannan, a Jatiya Party-backed candidate from the Shariatpur-3 constituency, said his nomination was cancelled because he provided an old bank account number.
“At the time of submitting my nomination, the district election office said it would be acceptable. Later, it was cancelled during scrutiny,” he said.
Among those who applied on Monday to have their nominations restored were Bangladesh Congress hopeful Kazi Shariful Islam from the Narsingdi-4 constituency, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis-backed candidate Hedayetullah from Kishoreganj-1, independent candidate SM Fazlul Haque from Patuakhali-3, BASAD-backed candidate Dilruba from Bogura-6, independent candidate Ishaq Sarkar from Dhaka-7, and Jatiya Party candidate Md Khurshid Alam from Chapainawabganj-2.
Kazi Shariful Islam said his nomination was cancelled after opponents allegedly snatched his documents during submission, and objections were later raised over signatures. “I have filed an appeal and hope to get my candidacy back,” he said.
Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis-backed candidate Hedayetullah said his nomination was cancelled for failing to complete one page of income and expenditure details in his affidavit. “Nominations in other constituencies were accepted despite the same error. I have appealed for the matter to be reconsidered,” he said.
Meanwhile, after inspecting the appeal proceedings, Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said that appeals could be filed against both decisions approving candidacy and decisions cancelling nominations.
He added that appeals could be submitted until 9 January, while hearings at the Election Commission would be held from 10 to 18 January.
Earlier in the day, after inspecting the appeal submission process, AMM Nasir Uddin said the commission believed that the upcoming national parliamentary election could be organised in a free and fair manner with the cooperation of all stakeholders. He added that the electoral environment had so far remained satisfactory.
