1,842 nomination papers declared valid, 723 canceled: EC

The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday (January 4) announced that 1,842 nomination papers submitted for the 300-seat 13th National Parliamentary election have been declared valid, while 723 were rejected for various reasons.

According to the EC secretariat, the scrutiny of nominations, which began on December 30, formally concluded at 5:00pm on Sunday.

Under the revised schedule, candidates can appeal the decisions of returning officers or assistant returning officers from January 5 to 9. Appeals will be heard and disposed of between January 10 and 18.

The deadline for candidate withdrawal is set for January 20.

Returning officers will publish the final candidate list and allocate symbols on January 21, after which official campaigning will run from January 22 until 7:30am on February 10. Voting for the highly anticipated election, held alongside the national referendum, is scheduled for February 12.

This year, 3,406 nomination papers were issued, and 2,568 candidates submitted applications.

Breakdown of valid and rejected nominations by region:

Dhaka: 309 valid, 133 rejected

Chattogram: 138 valid, 56 rejected

Rajshahi: 185 valid, 74 rejected

Khulna: 196 valid, 79 rejected

Barishal: 131 valid, 31 rejected

Sylhet: 110 valid, 36 rejected

Mymensingh: 199 valid, 112 rejected

Cumilla: 259 valid, 97 rejected

Rangpur: 219 valid, 59 rejected

Faridpur: 96 valid, 46 rejected

Due to the passing of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, nomination scrutiny for Dinajpur-3, Bogura-7, and Feni-1 was completed without review.