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Independent candidates account for nearly half of all rejected nominations following the scrutiny of nomination papers for the 13th parliamentary election.
Almost 350 independent hopefuls were disqualified during the vetting process, representing about 73 per cent of those who sought to contest the election without party backing. The figure makes up around 48 per cent of the total 723 nominations rejected nationwide, reports bdnews24.com.
According to an analysis of nomination data from all 300 constituencies, most independent candidates were disqualified due to discrepancies in documents submitted to show the support of at least 1 per cent of registered voters in their constituencies -- a legal requirement for independent contenders.
The Election Commission (EC) said returning officers approved 1,842 candidates after scrutiny.
In total, 478 people submitted nomination papers as independent candidates, but at least 350 failed to clear the vetting process. Election officials said detailed statistics would be released on Monday.
Preliminary information from field officials indicates that nominations were also rejected for reasons including loan and tax defaults, unpaid utility bills, concealment of criminal cases, dual citizenship, missing signatures on affidavits and incomplete income tax documentation.
Among political parties, 27 BNP candidates were disqualified, along with nine from Jamaat-e-Islami, 41 from Islami Andolan Bangladesh and 57 from the Jatiya Party -- the highest number of rejections among parties.
The BNP submitted nomination papers for 331 candidates, with officials saying most of those rejected had filed as party nominees, including multiple candidates from the same constituencies.
Following the scrutiny, Jamaat now has 267 valid candidates out of 276 submissions, while Islami Andolan has 227 candidates remaining after 41 rejections.
The Jatiya Party now has 167 candidates in the race after 57 of its 224 nominees were disqualified.
Independent candidates are required under election rules to submit verified signatures from at least 1 per cent of registered voters in their constituency. Officials said inconsistencies in these signatures were the primary reason for the high number of rejections.
A total of 3,406 nomination forms were collected for the election, with 2,568 eventually submitted.
In the previous parliamentary election held in January 2024, a record 747 independent candidates submitted nomination papers, of whom 423 were rejected during scrutiny.
Candidates can appeal returning officers’ decisions to the EC until Jan 9. Appeals will be heard between Jan 10-18, with the deadline for withdrawal of candidacy set for Jan 20.
The final list of candidates will be published ahead of polling on Feb 12.