72 appeals filed so far to EC against nomination rejection, acceptance

On the second day of the appeal process, aggrieved candidates started submitting appeals to the Election Commission (EC) this morning, challenging both the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers for the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election.

The process commenced at 10am today at the EC premises in the city's Agargaon area, where 10 region-based booths have been set up for filing appeals. 

According to EC sources, 41 appeals were lodged on the first day, Monday, against nomination rejections, along with one appeal against acceptance.

By 12:45pm today, the total number of appeals filed over the two days stood at 72, EC officials confirmed.

Yesterday, the region-wise breakdown of appeals included: 3 from Khulna, 5 from Rajshahi, 3 from Rangpur, 2 from Chattogram, 5 from Cumilla, 15 from Dhaka, 1 from Mymensingh, 1 from Barishal, and 7 from Faridpur. 

Among these, one appeal from Cumilla was against nomination acceptance.

On 4 January, the final day of scrutiny, Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers across 300 constituencies examined 2,568 nomination papers. Of these, 1,842 were declared valid, while 723 were rejected.

According to the EC's notice on filing, hearing, and disposal of appeals, any candidate, bank, financial institution, or government service provider dissatisfied with a Returning Officer's decision may submit a memorandum appeal to the commission within five days of scrutiny. 

Each appeal must include one original set and six photocopies of the relevant documents.

Aggrieved candidates or their authorised representatives may submit appeals between January 5 and January 9 by 5pm at a dedicated centre established in front of the EC building in Agargaon.

Hearings of the submitted appeals will take place at the EC Auditorium (Basement-2) from 10 to 18 January, to be presided over by the full commission.

The schedule is as follows: January 10 – appeals 1 to 70, January 11 – 71 to 140, January 12 – 141 to 210, January 13 – 211 to 280, January 14 – 281 to 350, January 15 – 351 to 420, January 16 – 421 to 490, January 17 – 491 to 560, and January 18 – 561 onwards.

Following the hearings, decisions will be displayed on monitors, PDF copies of rulings will be sent to the e-mail accounts of Returning Officers and concerned parties, and published on the EC website. 

Copies will also be distributed through EC reception desks according to schedule: rulings for January 10-12 will be released on 12 January, while rulings for January 13-15 on 15 January, and rulings for January 16-18 on 18 January, sources said.