Dhaka, Jan 06 (V7N)- Today marks the second day of the appeal process for candidates seeking to regain their candidacy in the 13th National Parliament election. Aggrieved candidates are filing appeals on Tuesday (January 6) against decisions made by the respective Returning Officers.

On the first day of appeals, a total of 42 applications were submitted to the Election Commission (EC). The commission has allowed candidates time to correct minor errors and discrepancies in their nomination documents. Appeal applications will continue to be accepted until January 9.

According to the election schedule, the EC will hear and dispose of appeals between January 10 and January 18, while the last date for withdrawal of candidacy is January 20.

Following scrutiny, Returning Officers across the country cancelled the nomination papers of 723 candidates, bringing the total number of valid candidates to 1,842.

Region-wise, the highest number of appeals has been submitted from Dhaka. Other regions include Rangpur (3), Rajshahi (5), Khulna (3), Barisal (1), Mymensingh (1), Faridpur (7), Comilla (5), and Chittagong (2). No appeal has been filed from the Sylhet region so far.

The EC also confirmed that an aggrieved individual filed an appeal against a candidate whose nomination was declared valid in the Comilla region.

It may be noted that on the final day of scrutiny on January 4, Returning Officers declared 1,842 nomination papers valid and 723 invalid. Most nominations were cancelled due to loan defaults, tax irregularities, mismatched voter signatures, and incomplete or insufficient official documents.

According to the announced schedule, voting for the 13th National Parliament election will be held on February 12.

END/SMA/AJ