The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh approved 18 appeals and rejected 17 during the seventh day of hearings on appeals filed against returning officers’ decisions for the 13th National Parliamentary Election. The session, held on Friday afternoon at the EC building in Agargaon, Dhaka, was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin. A total of 43 appeals were heard, with four kept pending for verdicts.

According to the EC, the appeals included challenges to both rejected and accepted nomination papers. Of the total, 18 appeals against rejected nominations were approved, while 17 similar appeals were dismissed. Additionally, four appeals challenging accepted nominations were also dismissed. The hearings are scheduled to continue on Saturday and Sunday, covering appeals numbered 511 to 645 and any pending cases.

The EC reported that 645 appeals were filed in total against returning officers’ decisions. On January 4, returning officers had declared 1,842 of 2,568 nomination papers valid and 723 invalid across 300 constituencies.