Dhaka, Jan 12 – The ruling Awami League has set Tuesday, January 15 to sell nomination forms for aspirants to its 43 reserved seats (women) in the 11th Parliament. Aspirants will have to collect the nomination forms from the AL president’s Dhanmondi political office in the city from Tuesday 110:00 am said an AL release on Saturday.
The Election Commission is likely to announce the election schedule for 50 parliamentary seats exclusively reserved for women this week, EC Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed told UNB.
The reserved seats’ distribution will reflect the seat share in the directly elected 300 constituencies. According to the proportional representation in the Parliament, Awami League will get women MPs from 43 reserved seats, Jatiya Party from 4 seats, BNP from one, and others will fill out the last two.
Out of the 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country, Awami League won in 257 constituencies, while Jatiya Party in 22 seats, BNP in six seats, Workers’ Party in three constituencies, Gano Forum, Jasod and Bikalpadhara each in two seats, Tarikat Federation and JP each in one seat in the recent 11th general election.
Besides, independent candidates were elected in three constituencies in the polls held on December 30 last.
One remaining constituency will go to polls on January 27, after the election there was postponed earlier following the death of a candidate.
The Election Commission has a legal obligation to arrange the polls to the 50 reserved seats within 90 days after the gazette of the general election result is published.
The directly-elected members of parliament are the voters of the election.
If the number of nominated candidates by a political party is equal to its reserved seats, the contenders will be declared elected unopposed immediate after the last date for withdrawal of candidacy.
It may be noted that eight elected MPs of Jatiya Oikyafront –- six from BNP and two from Gano Forum –have not taken the oath of office as MP. The BNP has been quite unequivocal that those elected on its ticket will not do so in future either, as the party has rejected the results. It is unlikely therefore that the reserved seat accruing to it will be filled.
Gano Forum’s position on joining the 11th Jatiya Sangshad has been less clear. Although in one voice with the BNP in denouncing the election, the party’s founding head Dr Kamal Hossain has never ruled out the possibility that the first-ever MPs elected from the party, albeit with the BNP’s electoral symbol, would eventually join Parliament. – UNB
