50 women MPs for reserved seats to be sworn in Sunday

Final vacant seat is filled as the Election Commission completes gazette process for all 50 seats

Members of parliament elected to reserved women’s seats in the 13th Parliament have been set to take oath, completing the formation of all such seats.

The swearing-in is scheduled for Sunday at 9pm at the oath room of the parliament building, according to the Parliament Secretariat.

Of the 50 reserved women seats, the Election Commission (EC) published a gazette on Apr 30 declaring 49 members elected unopposed, after which preparations began for their oath-taking.

One seat remained pending due to a legal complication, which was resolved on Saturday after Returning Officer Md Moin Uddin Khan declared the nomination of NCP candidate Nusrat Tabassum valid following a court order.

Her nomination was later accepted and verified under legal procedures.

The allocation of these 50 seats follows the proportional representation system.

Under this arrangement, the BNP-led alliance nominated 36 candidates, the Jamaat-e-Islami coalition put forward 13, and the independent alliance submitted one.

All candidates filed their nomination papers on Apr 21.

Among the 13 nominees from the Jamaat-led coalition were NCP Central Joint Member Secretary Mahmuda Alam Mitu and Joint Convenor Monira Sharmin.

While most nominations were accepted during the Apr 23 scrutiny, Monira’s bid was rejected.

Later, 36 from the BNP alliance, 12 from the Jamaat bloc, and one independent candidate were declared elected unopposed.

Nusrat had submitted her nomination after the Apr 21 deadline at 4pm, which was initially not accepted by the returning officer.

She sought legal recourse, leading the court to direct the EC to accept her nomination and follow due process.

With her nomination now validated, all reserved seats are officially filled.

Following the oath on Sunday night, these representatives will formally assume their legislative duties in the parliament.