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The Election Commission (EC) has announced the schedule for the reserved women’s seats of the Thirteenth National Parliament. As per the declared schedule, voting will be held on May 12. EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed informed journalists of this on Monday (April 6) after the 11th commission meeting.
Earlier, a nearly three-hour meeting on the election was held at the Election Building, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
Ahead of the vote for the reserved women’s seats, the EC initially sent letters to the political parties represented in parliament and independent Members of Parliament (MPs). Political parties were required to inform the EC whether they would contest the election as a coalition within 30 working days from the date of the gazette’s publication for the general parliamentary election. This deadline expired on April 5.
Before this deadline, political parties and independent members clarified their coalition positions by informing the Commission through letters.
The Thirteenth National Parliament election and a referendum were held on February 12. The following day, the EC officially published the results, including the names of the elected MPs. Fifty parties, including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Jatiya Party, participated in the election. Among them, only nine parties secured seats, while the remaining forty-one parties, including Jatiya Party, did not win any seats.
According to the law, the 50 reserved women’s seats are distributed based on the 300 general seats. The number of reserved women’s seats is determined proportionally to the number of seats won by a party or coalition. Based on this calculation, BNP will receive 36 seats, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami 12 seats, independent candidates will receive 2 seats if they form a coalition, and Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) will get one seat. However, smaller parties will not receive any seats if they do not form a coalition.
As per the National Parliament (Reserved Women’s Seats) Election Act-2004, elections must be held within 90 days of the gazette’s publication. In accordance with this act, the Commission is required to issue notifications for nomination, scrutiny, withdrawal, and the voting date. Furthermore, a separate list of party-wise and coalition-wise members must be prepared within 30 working days of the gazette’s publication.