Dhaka: Narir Rajnoitik Odhikar Forum (NROF) today demanded that political parties must nominate 33 percent women candidates mandatorily outside the reserved seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections. The forum made this demand during a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at the Agargaon Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital. Four other election commissioners and the EC’s senior secretary were present at the time.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, after the meeting, Women’s Affairs Reform Commission member Maheen Sultan told reporters, “We have raised our demands and expectations to ensure equal status of women voters, women candidates and women citizens.” She added that the Election Commission (EC) has announced to take several steps in line with their demands.
NROF emphasized the need for the nomination of 33 percent women candidates from all parties to ensure proper representation in the elections. The forum placed several demands to the CEC, including mandatory nomination of women candidates, women’s leadership in party structures, and equal allocation of funds for election campaigns. They also called for policies to prevent harassment both online and offline, direct elections to reserved seats in parliament, and the inclusion of ‘no’ votes in all parliamentary seats.
The forum further demanded that political parties nominate at least 33 percent women candidates outside reserved seats in the next election, with the goal of increasing this to 50 percent by 2030. They insisted that this provision should be included in the Representation of the People Order (RPO). Failure to comply, they argued, should lead to questioning the registration and eligibility of the concerned political party to participate in the election, with the possibility of facing legal disciplinary measures from the Election Commission.