The Election Commission (EC) has reinstated the candidacy of two independent contenders for the Pabna-1 constituency in Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary election. Following successful appeals, Khairun Nahar Khanam and Md. Tajul Islam’s nomination papers were declared valid. The decision was announced on Sunday, January 25, 2026, through a notice signed by EC Deputy Secretary (Law) Sannullah. The commission instructed the returning officer to include both names in the official list of valid candidates.

Earlier, elections in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 were suspended on January 9 due to a Supreme Court order concerning boundary disputes. The suspension reduced the number of constituencies from 300 to 298. A subsequent Supreme Court ruling on January 15 removed the legal barriers, allowing the EC to issue a revised election schedule. Under the new timetable, nomination submissions closed on January 18, scrutiny took place on January 19, and appeals were heard between January 20 and 24. The final appeal decisions were made on January 25.

According to the updated schedule, candidate withdrawal ends on January 26, symbols will be allocated on January 27, and elections for Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 will be held alongside the national polls and referendum on February 12.