As the board Chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo, also the incumbent president of the FBCCI, was unable to attend the hearing due to illness, the arbitration board cancelled yesterday's scheduled hearing, FBCCI and trade sources said.

However, the next date for conducting the hearing was not fixed.

Earlier on Thursday, the election board of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) rejected the petitions of those nine business leaders who sought permission to submit nomination papers afresh.

Of these nine aspirants, seven business leaders on July 24 complained to the election board that "they were cheated by two FBCCI leaders in submitting their nomination papers".

The two other business leaders, whose names were dropped from the primary list, appealed to the board that their documentation was correct.

August 2 is the last date for withdrawing nominations to the FBCCI biennial election, scheduled for August 21, and the final candidates' list will be published on August 3.

Among the 38 executive committee members of the FBCCI, 12 will be elected from chambers, 12 from associations, 7 from local chambers and the rest 7 from local associations. As per FBCCI constitutional provision, the president will be elected from the chamber group this time.