Dhaka: A total of 12,77,11,899 voters are set to participate in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) elections and referendum, which are scheduled to take place on February 12, as per sources from the Election Commission (EC). These voters include 6,48,25,154 males, 6,28,85,525 females, and 1,220 individuals identified as third gender.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the EC has made adjustments following the cancellation of the election in the Sherpur-3 constituency due to the death of a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate. Consequently, voting will now occur in 299 constituencies instead of the originally planned 300. The Jhalakathi-1 constituency records the lowest number of voters at 228,431, while Gazipur-2 boasts the highest with 804,333 registered voters.
Md Saiful Islam, Director (Operations) of the EC’s National Identity Registration Wing and Member Secretary of the Central Coordination Committee, revealed that 51 political parties will contest the election. The total number of candidates stands at 2,034, which includes 275 independents. The BNP has fielded the most candidates, with 291 contestants under the Sheaf of Paddy symbol. Islami Andolon Bangladesh follows with 258 candidates under the Hatpakha (Hand Fan) symbol. Furthermore, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has nominated 229 candidates with the Daripalla (Scale) symbol, Jatiya Party has 198 candidates with the Plough symbol, and Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) has 32 candidates with the Water Lily Bud symbol.
The EC sources also noted that among the independent candidates, 76 are contesting with the Football symbol. Voting is set to occur simultaneously from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, utilizing transparent ballot boxes in all 299 parliamentary constituencies nationwide.