The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh has resolved 36 appeals filed against returning officers’ decisions on nomination papers for the 13th parliamentary election. The hearing took place on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at the EC headquarters in Agargaon from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Out of the 36 appeals, 26 candidates were declared valid, including independent candidate Tasnim Zara, who left the NCP. Six appeals were rejected, while four candidates were granted additional time to submit further documents.

Between January 5 and 9, candidates whose nomination papers had been canceled submitted 645 appeals to the EC. A total of 723 nominations had been rejected during the initial scrutiny, while returning officers had declared 1,842 candidates valid. The EC’s first phase of hearings marks the beginning of the appeal resolution process ahead of the 13th parliamentary election.

Further hearings are expected as the EC continues to review the remaining appeals before finalizing the list of valid candidates for the upcoming election.