Published : 01 Oct 2026, 06:45 PM
Updated : 01 Oct 2026, 06:45 PM
A by-election will be held within 90 days to fill the reserved parliamentary seat vacated by BNP lawmaker Ferdousy Ahmed Mishti, the Election Commission has said.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud outlined the plan at a briefing at the Election Commission building on Thursday.
Mishti faced allegations of involvement in the attack, looting and vandalism at the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Dhaka’s Mirpur.
Amid criticism, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman instructed her to resign.
Mishti went to the speaker’s office at parliament on Thursday afternoon.
After her resignation, the Parliament Secretariat issued a gazette declaring seat No. 23 vacant and asked the Election Commission Secretariat to take necessary steps to fill it.
The BNP won 36 seats in the 13th Parliament, with one becoming vacant within five months. Jamaat’s alliance won 13 seats and the independent alliance one.
Masud said, “The seat will be filled through a by-election within 90 days as required by law.”
He said the election schedule would be announced. If there is more than one candidate, voting will take place; a lone candidate will be elected unopposed.
The seat will go to the party or alliance to which it was allocated.
‘No Legal Complication’
Attorney General Kazal said Mishti’s resignation on her party chief’s instruction created no legal complication.
“If the party had not nominated her, she could not have become an MP. So, if the party chief, for the needs of the party and the country, considers something necessary and the MP agrees, there is nothing wrong with that,” he said.
Kazal said Mishti would not be barred from contesting in a future election, including for a reserved women’s seat.
“Although her seat is vacant, she will not become ineligible to be an MP in a subsequent election. [On Thursday] Ferdousy Ahmed Mishti resigned from this parliament.
“If she wants to contest directly in the next parliament, whether the party nominates her or not, or as an independent candidate, this will not make her ineligible.”
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said Mishti had submitted her resignation in writing and her seat became vacant immediately under the Constitution.
“We will inform the Election Commission immediately, and the resignation took effect from today.”
