A total of 280 candidates regained their candidacy after appealing to the Election Commission (EC) against the Returning Officer's (RO) decision to revoke their nominations.
On the final day of the hearing, the Election Commission reinstated the candidacy of 22 applicants and dismissed the appeals of 62.
Election Commission Secretary Md Jahangir Alam confirmed the information at a press briefing at the Election Commission headquarters on Friday.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal presided over the hearing.
Among the 22 appeals, the appeal of Zahid Faruk, the Awami League candidate and Deputy Minister of Water Resources for the Barisal-5 constituency, was accepted, resulting in the cancellation of the candidacy of independent candidate Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah for the same constituency.
In the Faridpur-3 constituency, the acceptance of the appeal by independent candidate AK Azad led to the cancellation of the candidacy of Awami League aspirant Shamim Haque.
The remaining 20 appeals were also accepted, restoring the candidacy of 20 individuals.
Previously, on the fifth day of the hearing, 44 candidates regained their candidacy, while 52 appeals were rejected. Four appeals were left pending, and one was dismissed due to the absence of the appellant.
The Election Commission has resolved 560 appeal applications. Of these, 525 were filed by candidates who had been initially disqualified during the selection process. Over the past six days, a total of 280 appeals have been accepted in the appeal hearings.
Initially, the Returning Officers had validated the nomination papers of 1,985 candidates. Now, after the conclusion of six days of appeal hearings, a total of 2,260 candidates are officially valid to contest in the election.
According to the 12th national parliamentary election schedule, the last date for withdrawal of candidature is Sunday. 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.
