10 BNP women to compete in 12 seats out of 237 nominations

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Dhaka, Nov 3:  BNP on Monday nominated 10 women to compete for 12 seats among the 237 for which it announced candidates for the upcoming national parliamentary election.

That leaves the party on course to meet the requirement of nominating at least 5% women candidates for the existing 300 parliamentary seats in the next election, according to the July Charter.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the names at a press conference held at the party Chairperson’s office in Gulshan.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been nominated for three constituencies — Dinajpur-3, Feni-1 and Bogura-7.

The other women candidates are Afroza Khan Rita (Manikganj-3), Tahsina Rushdir Luna (Sylhet-2), Farzana Sharmin Putul (Natore-1), Sabira Sultana (Jashore-2), Ishrat Sultana Ellen Bhutto (Jhalakathi-2), Sansila Jebrin (Sherpur-1), Sanzida Islam Tuli (Dhaka-14), Shama Obaed (Faridpur-2) and Chowdhury Nayab Yusuf Ahmed (Faridpur-3).

At present, there are 50 reserved seats for women in the Jatiya Sangsad.

Besides, under the Representation of the People Order (RPO), political parties must nominate at least 5 percent women candidates in direct elections.

According to the Election Commission’s directive, all political parties are also required to have 33 percent women representation in their committees.

The original target year for achieving this quota was 2020, but it has since been extended to 2030.

In previous elections, the number of women directly elected to parliament has been limited.

In the 1991 election, 5 out of 39 women candidates were elected, 8 out of 36 in 1996, 6 out of 38 in 2001, 19 out of 59 in 2008, and 18 out of 29 in 2014. In the 2018 election, 22 of 69 women candidates won, while in the 2024 polls, 19 women were directly elected.

The National Consensus Commission has proposed increasing the number of reserved seats for women from 50 to 100.

While most political parties have agreed to the proposal, BNP suggested that the upcoming election be held under the existing system, with the increase to take effect in the next parliament. - UNB