The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has begun selling party nomination forms for the reserved women’s seats in the 13th National Parliament.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General and Prime Minister’s Political Adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi formally inaugurated the nomination forms selling at 11am on Friday at the party’s central office in capital’s Nayapaltan.
Speaking to journalists, Rizvi said the party’s parliamentary board would take the final decision on nominations. He said candidates would be evaluated based on several criteria, including their role in past political movements, educational qualifications, ability to participate in parliamentary debates, and other relevant competencies.
He also urged nomination seekers to maintain party discipline throughout the process.
According to party sources, each nomination form costs Tk 2,000 and must be submitted by April 12. Applicants will also be required to deposit Tk 50,000 as a security deposit at the time of submission.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Bangladesh has announced the schedule for elections to the reserved women’s seats in the 13th parliament, with voting set for May 12.
The election commission’s senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed announced the schedule on Wednesday at the election building in Agargaon.
According to the schedule, the deadline for submitting nomination papers is April 21, while scrutiny will take place on April 22 and 23. Appeals may be filed on April 26, with hearings scheduled for April 27 and 28. The last date for withdrawal of candidacy is April 29, and election symbols will be allocated on April 30. Voting will be held on May 12.
Of the 350 seats in parliament, 50 are reserved for women. Based on the distribution of seats, BNP is expected to receive 36 reserved seats, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance 13 seats, while one seat has been allocated for independent candidates.