BNP begins final selection for women's reserved seats

Interviews of candidates from five more divisions today, 375 nomination forms collected from EC

FE Team | Published: April 18, 2026 00:26:08

The BNP has started the final selection process for nominating candidates for the reserved women's seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, with aspirants appearing before the party's nomination board, report agencies.
The nomination board began interviewing the aspirants on Friday afternoon at the BNP Chairman's Gulshan office.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told reporters that interviews of those who collected and submitted nomination forms for the reserved seats started in the afternoon.
"As per the party constitution, the nomination board is headed by BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, and its members are from the party's standing committee," he said.
On the first day, candidates from Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur and Faridpur divisions were interviewed. More than 400 aspirants were expected to take in the interviews, Rizvi said.
He said interviews for candidates from Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Cumilla and Mymensingh divisions will begin at 3:00 pm today (Saturday).
Earlier, the Election Commission on April 8 announced the schedule for the reserved women's seat election.
According to the schedule, the deadline for submission of nomination papers is April 21, while scrutiny will take place on April 22 and 23. Appeals against scrutiny decisions can be filed on April 26 and will be disposed of on April 27 and 28.
Election symbols will be allotted on April 30, and voting will be held on May 12.
The EC said all preparations have been taken to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election.
According to seat distribution, the BNP-led alliance will get 36 seats, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami alliance 13 seats, and independents one seat.
Since early afternoon, BNP aspirants and their supporters gathered in front of the party Chairman's Gulshan office. Security personnel allowed only the candidates to enter the premises.
Inside the office, a designated waiting area has been arranged for the aspirants.
Highlighting the criteria for nomination, Rizvi said the party will consider the contributions of women leaders, especially their role during the last 15-16 years of political struggle.
He mentioned that many women leaders faced harassment, including cases, attacks, and intimidation during that period.
The BNP leader also said educational background, ability to speak in Parliament, and knowledge of lawmaking will be taken into account in selecting the final candidates.
Rizvi expressed hope that the party will make proper evaluations in choosing the women members of parliament.
Meanwhile, a total of 375 nomination papers have been collected so far for the 50 women's reserved seats in parliament.
The figures were revealed in the latest list released by the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday, covering the distribution period from April 9 to 16.
According to the seat distribution based on proportional representation in current parliament, the BNP-led alliance has been allocated 36 seats, the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance 13, and an independent bloc one seat.
EC Joint Secretary Moin Uddin Khan confirmed that the Jamaat-led alliance collected 13 nomination forms on Wednesday.
Only two nominations have been officially submitted to the commission so far.
Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, assistant secretary general of Jamaat, said: "On behalf of the Leader of the Opposition and Jamaat ameer, we met the EC secretary to collect 13 forms for our alliance. The candidates from our 11-party bloc, including the NCP, have already been finalised."
He added that the names would be formally disclosed when the nomination papers are submitted to the returning officer on April 20.