Candidates from the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance submitted nomination papers to the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday, final day for nomination submission, for the reserved women’s seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.
The nomination papers were submitted at around 11:00am at the Election Commission office in Agargaon, Dhaka. The alliance candidates submitted their papers to the returning officer in the conference room of the Election Bhaban.
The deadline for submitting nomination papers for the reserved women’s seats ends on Tuesday, according to EC sources.
EC sources said that out of the 50 reserved women’s seats, allocated proportionately based on parliamentary representation, the BNP will get 36 seats, the Jamaat alliance 13 seats, and one seat will go to an independent lawmaker.
Under the Jamaat-led alliance quota of 13 seats, Jamaat-e-Islami has 9 candidates, the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) has 2 candidates, and one candidate each came from Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis and JAGPA.
The Jamaat nominees include Nurunnisa Siddika, secretary of its central women’s wing; Marzia Begum, assistant secretary; Sabikun Nahar Munni, secretary of the law and human resources department; Mardia Momtaz, a teacher at Daffodil International University; Nazmun Nahar Nilu, secretary of publicity and cultural affairs; Mahfuza Hannan from Sylhet; Sajeda Samad, a Bogura-based leader and former upazila women vice-chairman; and Shamsunnahar Begum from Chattogram.
The NCP nominees are Monira Sharmin, convener of its women’s platform Jatiya Nari Shakti, and member secretary Mahmuda Alam Mitu.
Jagpa Chairman Tasmia Pradhan, along with Mahbuba Hakim of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis’s women’s wing, is also on the list.
Mahbuba Hakim, niece of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Ameer Mamunul Haque, will submit her nomination later, sources said.
Rokeya Begum, the mother of July martyr Jabir Ibrahim, has also submitted a nomination on behalf of the Jamaat-backed alliance.
They submitted the papers along with affidavits and other necessary documents to EC Joint Secretary and Returning Officer Moin Uddin Khan.
Election Commission Additional Secretary KM Ali Newaz, 11-party electoral alliance coordinator Hamidur Rahman Azad, and Ehsanul Mahbub Zubayer were present during the submission.
Apart from the Jamaat alliance, no other party submitted nomination papers on Tuesday. However, nomination forms have been collected for 13 seats by the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, one by Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, and one by the Labour Party under the Jamaat alliance.
Earlier on Monday, five BNP leaders submitted their nomination papers. A total of 464 aspirants has so far collected nomination papers.
According to the EC schedule, nomination submission ends on Tuesday, 21 April. Scrutiny will be held on 22 and 23 April. Appeals may be filed on 26 April, with disposal on 27 and 28 April. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is 29 April, symbol allocation is on 30 April, and voting will be held on 12 May.
EC officials said that if political parties nominate candidates equal to their allocated seats, no election will be required for the reserved women’s seats. They added that no election has been held for these seats so far.
