The allocation of election symbols for candidates in the 13th parliamentary election has begun. While party candidates have predetermined symbols, independent candidates are being allotted different ones.
The process started at the office of the returning officer around 10am on Wednesday.
Candidates will formally begin election campaigning, reaching out to voters door‑to‑door from Thursday.
Electioneering will be allowed until 48 hours before polling. Voting will take place uninterrupted on 12 February from 7:30am to 4:30pm, according to the Election Commission roadmap.
In this Jatiya Sangsad election, to be held with transparent ballot papers, nearly 12.77 crore voters across the country will exercise their right to vote. Alongside the parliamentary election, a referendum will also be held using a separate ballot.
The deadline for withdrawal of candidacy in the national election has already ended. Across the country, 305 candidates have withdrawn, leaving 1,967 candidates to contest in 298 constituencies.
According to Election Commission data, Dhaka‑12 constituency has the highest number of contenders this time, with 15 candidates. However, Narayanganj‑4 ranks second with 13 candidates. The lowest number of candidates in any constituency is two.
EC sources said the deadline for submitting nomination papers was 29 December. By that time, 2,585 nomination papers had been filed for 300 constituencies. During scrutiny between 30 December and 4 January, 726 nomination papers were rejected, leaving 1,858 valid candidates.
Appeals against the returning officers’ decisions were accepted from 5 January. By 9 January, 639 appeals had been filed. Hearings on these appeals began on 10 January and continued until 18 January. Of the 645 appeals, 431 candidates regained their candidacy.
However, in Pabna‑1 and Pabna‑2 constituencies, 11 previously valid candidates (out of 13 who had submitted nomination papers under the previous schedule) will be excluded from the list. A revised schedule has been announced for these two constituencies, keeping the polling date unchanged.
According to that schedule, 18 January was the final day for submitting nomination papers in these constituencies. On that day, seven nomination papers were filed in Pabna‑1 and five in Pabna‑2.
