Ruling party Awami League (AL) plans to release the names of its candidates on November 25 as well as the names of candidates of its grand alliance for the 11th general elections on December 30, confirms senior Awami League leader Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan.
Faruk, also a member of the Awami League Parliamentary Board (ALPB), said: “The party has already selected its candidates and they will be announced on November 25.”
Also Read- Too many Awami League candidates for general election
The ALPB, headed by the party president and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is responsible for evaluating, assessing, and finalizing candidates from over 4,000 nomination seekers.
Sources inside the ALPB told the Dhaka Tribune that the party has already selected 232 candidates, and is currently in the process of finalizing the list of candidates from its alliance partners.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working to finalize the list of Awami League-endorsed candidates. We have reached a consensus with our alliance partners on allotting seats as well,” he said.
Also Read- Awami League sets high bar
According to party sources, Sheikh Hasina has had several rounds of discussions with the alliance on this matter.
Another ALPB member, Ramesh Chandra Sen, said: “The alliance is yet to finalize names of candidates from 10-12 constituencies. We will release the final list of candidates as soon as our partners give us the names.”
Meanwhile, incumbent lawmakers and senior party leaders rumoured to have been dropped or not considered for candidacy, are still lobbying the party chief for an opportunity, while leaders rumoured to have been given the nomination are lobbying to stay on the list.
Also Read- Families vie for Awami League nomination
When is the election?
On November 12, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda announced a fresh schedule for the parliamentary elections.
The commission said the polls will now be held on December 30 instead of December 23.
According to the new schedule, the deadline for submitting nomination papers is November 28 instead of November 19.
