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Published : 21 Jan 2026, 11:11 AM
Returning officers have begun allocating symbols to candidates contesting in the parliamentary election. Nearly 2,000 candidates – part-backed and independent – are contesting the polls.
Sample copies of the symbols are being provided at the returning officer's office on Wednesday. A maximum of three people have been asked to attend the event on behalf of each candidate. This includes the candidates themselves, election agents, proposers, supporters or any person or representative connected to the candidate.
On Tuesday, 1,867 candidates were finalised for 298 seats (excluding Pabna-1 and Pabna-2) after the deadline for candidacy withdrawals elapsed.
Dhaka-12 has the most candidates, with 15 people in the fray, while Pirojpur-1 has only two contenders.
Party candidates will receive the reserved symbol of their respective party. Symbols will be allocated to independent candidates by the returning officer based on their choices.
Md Yunus Ali, returning officer for the Dhaka-13 and Dhaka-15 seats, said symbols are being allocated from 10am.
The Election Commission has already issued a circular outlining the rules and regulations regarding the allocation of symbols. It lists the symbols of 59 registered parties. In addition to the reserved symbols of the parties, there are 56 symbols for independent candidates.
Fifty parties are participating in the vote this time. Even if registered political parties vote in alliance, the candidate will have to contest using their own party symbol.
The returning officer will allocate symbols, taking into account the candidate's preference as far as possible from the list of symbols assigned to independent candidates.
If more than one candidate claims the same symbol, symbol selection can be arranged through discussions. If they fail to reach an agreement, the symbols will be allocated through a lottery.
If any of the multiple independent candidates has previously been elected as an MP as an independent candidate, they will get the symbol of their choice on the basis of privilege unless the symbol is reserved for a party or has already been allocated to someone else.
After the symbol allocation phase, the official campaign for the vote will begin on Thursday and will continue until Feb 10.
The national election as well as a referendum on the implementation of the July National Charter will be held across the country on Feb 12.
