375 nomination forms collected for 50 reserved women’s seats

A total of 375 nomination papers have been collected so far for the 50 reserved women's seats in the parliament.

The figures were revealed in the latest list released by the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday, covering the distribution period from Apr 9 to 16.

According to the seat distribution based on proportional representation in the current parliament, the BNP-led alliance has been allocated 36 seats, the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance 13, and an independent bloc one seat.

EC Joint Secretary Moin Uddin Khan confirmed that the Jamaat-led alliance collected 13 nomination forms on Wednesday.

Only two nominations have been officially submitted to the commission so far.

Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, assistant secretary general of Jamaat, said: "On behalf of the Leader of the Opposition and Jamaat ameer, we met the EC secretary to collect 13 forms for our alliance. The candidates from our 11-party bloc, including the NCP, have already been finalised."

He added that the names would be formally disclosed when the nomination papers are submitted to the returning officer on Apr 20.

While 307 aspirants have collected official forms from the EC, party sources indicate that nearly 1,300 women leaders have purchased internal party nomination forms from the BNP’s central office.

The BNP is scheduled to conduct interviews for these aspirants on Friday and Saturday, after which the party high command will finalise the list of 36 candidates.

According to the announced schedule, the submission deadline is Apr 21. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on Apr 22 and 23.

The deadline for withdrawal is Apr 29, and the polling date is set for May 12.