Dhaka Bureau: 1 thousand 896 candidates from 27 registered political parties are contesting for 300 seats in the 12th National Assembly elections. Going beyond party symbols, this election is largely individual. About 400 candidates will contest the election independently.
In this election, the Awami League has party candidates in 263 seats. Another 269 party leaders are standing as independent candidates—those who have already been recognized as ‘Awami independent candidates’ in the polling field. Among them are 28 sitting MPs who did not get party nominations this time. Several Awami League leaders have become independent candidates in some constituencies. Apart from Awami League leaders, some have become independent candidates.
However, those who lose their candidacy in the appeal of the returning officer or the EC will have the opportunity to approach the High Court. Before the election, a person can contest the election if his candidature is withdrawn by the High Court verdict.
There were a total of 1,861 candidates in the 11th National Parliament election held in 2018. 128 of them were independent candidates. There were 1,733 candidates from 39 parties, including the Awami League and the BNP. This time, many opposition parties, including the BNP, are not participating in the election.
Earlier in 2014, the opposition parties, including the BNP, also boycotted the 10th parliamentary elections. The Awami League won 153 seats in that election without a vote. This time, the Awami League is careful to ensure that no one is elected in any seat without a vote. For this reason, party leaders are not prohibited from being independent candidates; incentives are given in particular.
On January 7, the 12th National Assembly elections will be held. This time, 2 thousand 716 nomination papers were submitted in 300 parliamentary seats. 731 were canceled in the selection of returning officers. 280 people got their candidature back by appealing to the Election Commission (EC). And after being valid in the selection, five people were excluded from the appeal. Yesterday was the last day for withdrawal of candidature. On this day, 347 candidates withdrew their candidacies across the country.
The ruling Awami League, the largest party in this election, initially fielded candidates in 298 seats. After selection and appeal, they had 293 valid candidates. Through compromise, the Awami League has ceded 32 seats to the Jatiya Party, a partner of the 14-party alliance and the main opposition party in the current parliament. The Awami League has not given a candidate (of the boat symbol) in two of these constituencies. In the remaining 30 seats, boat candidates withdrew their candidacies yesterday. Now there are party candidates for the Awami League in 263 seats.
The Election Commission could not give the party-wise final candidate list centrally until last night. They only stated the total number of candidates. Today is Monday symbol allocation. After this, the official campaign for the candidates will begin.
