Shammi Ahmed dropped, Pankaj Nath's candidature upheld

The Election Commission has rejected both appeals filed by Shammi Ahmed, the Awami League-nominated candidate for Barishal-4 (Mehendiganj-Hijla) constituency. The decision to cancel Shammi Ahmed's candidacy has been upheld.

On the other hand, the candidacy of Pankaj Nath, the current member of parliament and an independent candidate for the same seat, has been upheld. 

Thie election commission took this decision following a hearing at the Agargaon Nirbachan Bhaban (election building) in the capital on Friday morning. 

Shammi Ahmed filed two appeals with the election commission. One appeal sought the reinstatement of her nomination papers, which had been canceled by the returning officer due to her dual citizenship. 

The other appeal contested the acceptance of the nomination papers of Pankaj Nath, the current member of parliament and an independent candidate from the Awami League. Shammi Ahmed alleged that Pankaj Nath had concealed information in his affidavit. Both of Shammi Ahmed's appeals were rejected. 

The 12th National Parliament elections are scheduled for 7 January. A total of 2,716 nomination papers were submitted for the 300 parliamentary seats, with 731 nomination papers being rejected during the selection process.  

There have been a total of 558 appeals filed with the Election Commission against the decisions of the Returning Officers. The appeal hearings began on 10 December, and today marks the last day of the hearing process.