The Election Commission (EC) may publish the final voter list for the reserved women’s seats in the 13th National Parliament on April 6.
Officials from the EC’s Election Management Branch provided this information on Sunday.
EC Deputy Secretary Mohammad Monir Hossain said that according to the law, political parties must complete the process of deciding whether to contest the elections collectively or not within 30 working days from the date of gazette publication of the parliamentary election. The final voter list must then be published the following day.
Accordingly, the 30 working days will end on April 5, and the final voter list for the reserved women’s seats will be published the next day.
Under the Jatiya Sangsad (Reserved Women Seats) Election Act, 2004, the reserved women’s seats are allocated to political parties and alliances proportionally based on the total number of seats they hold in Parliament.
The EC Secretariat then appoints a returning officer and finalizes the voter list. After approval in an EC meeting, the election schedule is announced. Parties and alliances nominate candidates equal to the number of seats allocated to them, which often results in candidates being elected unopposed.
