A total of 2,568 candidates have submitted nomination papers to contest the 300 constituencies in Bangladesh’s 13th national parliamentary election. Of them, only 109 are women, accounting for 4.24 percent of all candidates. Among these women candidates, 68 have received nominations from political parties, while 41 are contesting as independent candidates.
Among party-nominated women candidates, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has nominated 10, the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) 3, the Jatiya Party 6, Gono Odhikar Parishad 3, the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) 6, and Gono Sanghati Andolan 5. Several other political parties have also nominated women candidates. The highest number of women candidates are running independently.
Candidates submitted their nomination papers on December 29. Following scrutiny by the Election Commission, a number of nominations were cancelled. After appeals, several women candidates regained their candidacies and remain in the race.
In this election, a significant number of political parties have not nominated any women candidates. Although 51 political parties are participating in the election, only 22 parties have fielded women candidates, while 29 parties have not nominated a single woman. Among them are Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlish, Bangladesh Islami Front, Liberal Democratic Party, Janatar Dal, and Bangladesh Sanskritik Mukti Jote.
Asset declarations submitted by women candidates indicate that nearly 30 women candidates possess assets worth over one crore taka, with some declaring assets worth several crores. Among them, a majority are contesting as independent candidates.
Women’s rights groups have stated that political parties have failed to meet their publicly stated commitments to increase women’s participation in electoral politics in the current parliamentary election.
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