A total of 645 appeals have been filed with the Election Commission (EC) seeking restoration of candidacy against decisions made by returning officers during the scrutiny of nomination papers for the 13th national parliamentary election.
The five-day appeal submission process, which began on Monday (January 5), ended on Friday (January 9). Election Commission Public Relations Wing Director Ruhul Amin Mallik confirmed the figures on Friday afternoon, saying that 176 appeals were submitted on the final day alone.
According to the EC, appeal hearings will begin at 10:00am on Saturday (January 10) and will continue until January 18. Hearings for appeal numbers 01 to 70 will be held on Saturday, while appeals numbered 71 to 140 will be heard on Sunday (January 11). On Monday (January 12), appeals numbered 141 to 210 will be taken up, followed by hearings of appeals numbered 211 to 280 on Tuesday (January 13).
Mallik said the hearings will take place daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm at the auditorium of the Election Building in Agargaon, Dhaka. The schedule for the remaining appeal hearings will be announced later.
Under the revised election schedule, appeals are to be disposed of by January 18, after which January 20 has been fixed as the final day for withdrawal of candidacy. Returning officers will publish the final list of candidates and allocate election symbols on January 21.
Election campaigning will begin on January 22 following symbol allocation and will continue until 7:30am on February 10. Voting will be held uninterrupted in all 300 constituencies on February 12 (Thursday) from 7:30am to 4:30pm.
