Schedule announced for reserved women’s seats, voting on May 12

PNN News Desk, Dhaka
The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the reserved women’s seats of the 13th National Parliament. According to the schedule, voting for this election will be held on May 12.

The schedule was announced during a briefing at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Wednesday (April 8) by the EC’s senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed.

The EC stated that the deadline for submitting nomination papers is April 21. Verification and scrutiny of the nomination papers will take place on April 22 and 23. The period for appeals by candidates is April 26, and appeal resolution will occur on April 27 and 28. The last day to withdraw candidacy is April 29, with symbols being allocated on April 30.

Moinuddin Khan will serve as the returning officer for this reserved women’s seat election, assisted by Monir Hossain as the assistant returning officer. Additionally, four polling agents will be appointed to oversee the election.

According to EC sources, out of a total of 50 reserved women’s seats, 36 are allocated for BNP and its alliance, 13 for Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies, and 1 seat for independents. The Islamic Movement of Bangladesh is not part of any alliance, and independent parliament member Rumin Farhana is also unaffiliated.

The briefing also mentioned that voting for the general election in Sherpur-3 and by-election in Bogura-6 will take place tomorrow, Thursday, with preparations reported to be satisfactory.

The EC expressed hope that all stakeholders will continue to cooperate to ensure a free, fair, and credible election.