Dhaka, Jan 14 (V7N) — The fifth day of hearings on appeals filed against the decisions of Returning Officers over the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers for the 13th National Parliament election is being held today, Wednesday.

The appeal hearings began at 10:00 am and are scheduled to continue until 5:00 pm.

According to the Election Commission (EC), a total of 645 appeals were filed challenging the Returning Officers’ decisions. Of these, appeals numbered 281 to 380 were scheduled for hearing on Wednesday.

The appeal process began last Saturday. On the first day, the nominations of 51 candidates were restored. On Sunday, 57 candidates regained their candidacy, while 41 candidates were reinstated on Monday. On Tuesday, appeals of 53 candidates were accepted.

With Wednesday’s hearings, a total of 203 candidates have so far regained their candidacies over the first four days of the appeal process.

According to the revised election schedule, the appeal hearings will continue until January 18. The deadline for withdrawal of candidacy is set for January 20, and the Returning Officers will publish the final list of candidates and allocate election symbols on January 21.

Election campaigning will officially begin on January 22 and will continue until 7:30 am on February 10. Polling for the 13th National Parliament election will take place on February 12, with voting scheduled from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm.

END/SMA/AJ