A total of 1,967 candidates are left running from 298 of the country’s 300 constituencies in the 13th Jatiya Sangshad election, after 305 contestants withdrew from the race, for which the deadline expired on Tuesday.
The figure is expected to rise further once the candidates from Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 are finalised. The last date for withdrawal in those two constituencies was extended to January 26, following a legal battle over the delimitation of their boundaries.
Even without them though, the number of candidates making it onto the ballot this time will be the highest since 2008, despite the absence of the Awami League due to an activities ban, and some other parties staying away of their own accord.
The number of contesting candidates in the 12th parliamentary election held in 2024 was 1,896. In 2018, the number of candidates who contested the 11th parliamentary election was 1,841.
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According to the Election Commission’s draft statistics released late on Tuesday night, 305 candidates withdrew from the race by the final deadline.
According to the EC, a total of 2,585 aspirants initially submitted nomination papers to contest this year’s election by the December 29, 2025 deadline.
After scrutiny, returning officers declared 1,858 nomination papers valid and rejected 726 others.
Aggrieved aspirants and institutions including different banks filed a total of 639 appeals with the Election Commission, challenging the decisions of the returning officers over accepting or rejecting nominations of more than 600 aspirants.
These appeals were disposed of by the Election Commission over nine consecutive days of hearings from January 10 to 18, at the end of which 431 candidates regained their candidacies - several on the strength of court orders.
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Ultimately the number of contesting candidates stood at 1,967 for 298 constituencies, beating out the last three elections, which were all held under a partisan government.