28% of election nominations rejected, 1,842 declared qualified
Candidates can file appeals with the Election Commission against the decisions of returning officers or assistant returning officers from 5 to 9 January
Highlights
- Scrutiny of papers ran from 30 December to 4 January
- Appeals against rejection can be filed 5–9 January
- Dhaka: 309 valid, 133 cancelled; Chattogram: 138 valid, 56 cancelled
- Campaigning starts 22 January
The Election Commission has declared 1,842 nomination papers valid for the 13th parliamentary elections across 300 constituencies, while 723 were rejected, disqualifying about 28% of candidates. The EC Secretariat released the figures following the completion of the nomination scrutiny process at 5pm today (4 January).
Of the rejected, 351 were independent candidates, whereas a total of 478 independent candidates had submitted their nomination papers.
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In the nomination verification process, the highest number of disqualifications occurred in Narail-1, while the largest pool of valid candidates remains in Dhaka. Out of 15 nomination papers submitted in Narail-1, only five were declared valid, marking it the constituency with the most rejections. Meanwhile, Dhaka-5 has the highest number of valid candidates, with 14 nominees cleared.
Several constituencies have the lowest number of valid candidates, with just two approved nominees each. These include Nilphamari-3, Bogura-6, Rajshahi-4, Dinajpur-1, Sherpur-2, Netrokona-5, and Dhaka-2.
A total of 3,406 nomination papers were submitted by 2,568 candidates nationwide. Following scrutiny, in the Dhaka region, 309 nominations were validated and 133 rejected, while Chattogram saw 138 valid nominations and 56 disqualifications. In Rajshahi, 185 were accepted and 74 rejected, and in Khulna, 196 nominations were cleared and 79 disqualified. Barishal recorded 131 valid and 31 rejected nominations, Sylhet 110 valid and 36 rejected, Mymensingh 199 valid and 112 rejected, Cumilla 259 valid and 97 rejected, Rangpur 219 valid and 59 rejected, and in Faridpur, 96 nominations were validated while 46 were disqualified.
According to EC sources, the majority of disqualified candidates were independents. Common reasons for rejection included technical discrepancies in voter support lists, incomplete or false affidavits, undisclosed legal cases, dual citizenship, loan defaults, unsettled bills, incomplete three-year post-retirement periods for government employees, and problems with party endorsements.
Candidates who wish to appeal against the decisions of the returning or assistant returning officers can do so from 5 to 9 January by 5pm. An appeal centre has been set up in front of the EC building in Agargaon, Dhaka, with booths organised by region. Both disqualified candidates and individuals wishing to raise objections against others may file appeals. The hearings will be conducted from 10 to 18 January under the supervision of the Chief Election Commissioner and four EC commissioners, after which final decisions will be issued.
In addition, three nominations collected for BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in Dinajpur-3, Bogura-7, and Feni-1 were processed without scrutiny due to her death. EC Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam said that any candidate facing injustice in the appeal process would have it rectified. He added that disqualification reasons would be re-examined and that independent candidates affected by technical issues in voter support lists would receive careful consideration.
Under the announced schedule, candidates may withdraw nominations until 20 January, and the EC will publish the final candidate list with election symbols on 21 January.
