Staff Reporter:
The Election Commission (EC) on Friday dismissed reports claiming that elections in the Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies had been postponed.
“The information attributed to the EC is not correct,” the commission said in a handout issued this afternoon, requesting that the news broadcast on the matter be withdrawn or stopped.
Earlier, several television channels and media outlets reported that the EC had suspended the election process in the Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies following an order from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court over a dispute related to the demarcation of the two seats.
On 12 December, the EC announced the schedule for holding the 13th national election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order simultaneously on 12 February 2026.
A total of 2,565 aspirants—from 51 political parties and as independents—submitted nomination papers for the country’s 300 constituencies by the 29 December deadline.
Following scrutiny from 30 December to 4 January, the returning officers declared 1,842 nomination papers valid, while rejecting 723 others.
More than 450 aggrieved aspirants have already filed appeal petitions with the Election Commission, challenging the decisions of the returning officers over the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers till Thursday, a day before the expiry of the deadline.
The Commission will hear and dispose of the appeals from 10 to 18 January.
The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is 20 January.
The election campaign will begin on 22 January and continue until 48 hours before the start of polling, which is scheduled to begin at 7:30am on 10 February.
