Sixty-one candidates for the upcoming 12th parliamentary election, whose nomination papers were initially cancelled by respective Returning Officers (RO) of the constituencies, got their candidacy back as the Election Commission (EC) held the third day of the appeal hearing on Tuesday.
The commission reviewed 98 appeals. Of them, 61 appeals were accepted, 35 were rejected and two are pending.
The hearing was held at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital's Agargaon on Tuesday.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal and other election commissioners announced the verdicts during the hearing of the appeals.
As per the Election Commission’s schedule, the submitted nomination papers were scrutinized from December 1-4. The hearing will continue till December 15. If the candidate is not satisfied with the verdict, they have the option to approach the High Court.
A total of 168 candidates got back their candidacy in the last three days till Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the candidates who got their nominations back expressed their happiness.
A total of 2,716 nomination papers were submitted against 300 parliamentary seats. At least 731 nomination papers were rejected during verification. A total of 558 appeals were filed with the EC to get back the candidature.
According to the 12th national parliamentary election schedule, the last date for withdrawal of candidature is December 17. After that, the number of final candidates will be known.
The returning officers will allot the symbols on December 18. The candidates will then go on the campaign, which will continue till 8am on January 5.
The 12th parliamentary election is set to be held on January 7, as per the schedule announced by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on November 15.
