Seven female candidates have been elected to parliament in the 13th national election, according to unofficial results announced so far.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is heading towards forming the government with an absolute majority. Of the seven winning women candidates, six contested under the party’s paddy sheaf symbol and secured victories in their respective constituencies.
Vote counting is still underway. Unofficial results from 297 of the 300 constituencies have been announced so far, confirming the election of seven women candidates.
Election data shows that 84 female candidates contested the election, of whom seven emerged victorious.
In Manikganj-3 constituency—comprising Saturia, Manikganj municipality and eight unions of Sadar upazila—BNP candidate Afroza Khanom was unofficially elected after securing 167,345 votes. Her nearest rival, Muhammad Saeed Noor of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, who contested with the rickshaw symbol, received 64,242 votes.
In Jhalakathi-2 constituency (Jhalakathi Sadar and Nalchity), BNP alliance candidate Israt Sultana Elen Bhutto won after securing 113,100 votes, including postal ballots, from 147 polling centres using the paddy sheaf symbol. Her closest rival, SM Nayeemul Karim, who contested with the scale symbol, received 69,805 votes.
In Sylhet-2 constituency (Biswanath and Osmaninagar), Tahsinah Rushdir Luna, wife of former BNP leader M Ilyas Ali, won by a margin of 79,321 votes. She secured 117,956 votes, while her nearest rival from Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis received 38,635 votes. Among 33 candidates contesting six constituencies in Sylhet district, she was the only female candidate.
In Brahmanbaria-2 constituency—covering Sarail, Ashuganj and parts of Bijoynagar—independent candidate Rumeen Farhana was unofficially elected by a large margin, securing 117,495 votes, 37,568 more than her closest rival, Junaid Al Habib.
According to unofficial results, BNP candidates Farzana Sharmin (Natore-1), Shama Obayed Islam (Faridpur-2) and Nayab Yusuf Ahmed (Faridpur-3) have also won their respective seats.
A total of 2,017 candidates contested the election across 300 constituencies nationwide. According to the candidate list published by the Bangladesh Election Commission following the nomination withdrawal deadline on January 20, 84 candidates—about 4% of the total—were women. Of them, 66 contested with party nominations, while 19 ran as independents. One candidate was from the transgender community.
Affidavits submitted to the Election Commission show that 64 female candidates, or nearly 75%, held graduate or postgraduate degrees. The largest age group among women candidates was 25 to 39 years, accounting for 32 contestants. Professionally, around 67% were engaged in various occupations.
