Final Day of Appeal Hearings Today, Decision on Dual Citizenship Candidates Expected

Today marks the final day of appeal hearings for candidates whose nominations were cancelled during scrutiny by returning officers ahead of the national parliamentary election scheduled for February 12. On the same day, the Election Commission (EC) is set to announce its final decision on whether candidates holding dual citizenship will be allowed to contest the election.

According to EC sources, nearly all pending appeals are related to dual citizenship issues, and decisions on these applications are expected to be delivered today. During hearings held on Saturday, disagreements were reported between candidates during discussions on dual citizenship matters.

On the eighth day of appeal hearings on Saturday, 44 candidates regained their candidacy, bringing the total number of restored nominations to nearly 400 over eight days. However, on the same day, the nomination of a candidate from one constituency was cancelled following an appeal filed by a rival contender. A subsequent counter-appeal challenging the rival’s nomination was later rejected by the commission.

The EC stated that a total of 112 appeals were heard on Saturday. Of these, 45 were approved, 37 were rejected, and 19 remained pending. Nine appeals were not placed for hearing due to withdrawal, while applicants were absent in two cases. In total, 645 appeals were submitted to the commission within the stipulated timeframe. Hearings today are scheduled to begin at 10:00 am.

After Saturday’s hearings, an election commissioner said that all pending appeals would be taken up from noon today and final decisions would be announced on the same day.

Among those who regained their candidacy were both independent and party-affiliated contenders from different constituencies. Meanwhile, the EC also cancelled the nomination of a candidate in one constituency over loan default allegations, following an application filed by a rival candidate.

In another constituency, appeals seeking the cancellation of seven candidates’ nominations were dismissed after hearings, with the commission declaring all nominations valid.

With today’s proceedings, the appeal process for parliamentary candidates comes to an end, as political parties and contenders closely await the commission’s ruling—particularly on the issue of dual citizenship.