United News of Bangladesh

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. 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. 13th Parliamentary Election: 35 candidates to contest five constituencies in Chandpur 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. 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.

The Election Commission will sit in a views-exchange with top government officials including secretaries of key ministries, directors general of important agencies and Inspector General of Prisons (IG Prisons) on October 30 next aiming to conduct the upcoming national election in a free, participatory and fair manner. The views-exchange and pre-preparatory meeting will be held at 3:00 pm on October 30 (Thursday) at the Conference Room of the Election Commission Secretariat, said an EC letter sent to the top government officials. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will preside over the meeting, with the Election Commissioners in attendance. According to the EC letter, at least 31 senior officials have been asked to attend the meeting, including the Cabinet Secretary, Senior Secretaries of the Ministries of Home, Public Administration, Shipping and Expatriates’ Welfare and the Foreign Secretary. EC to publish final list of polling stations Monday, says Secretary Akhtar Others include the secretary (Coordination and Reforms) Cabinet Division, secretaries of Finance Division, Law and Justice Division, Health Education and Family Welfare Division, Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Local Government Division, Financial Institutions Division, Power Division, Agriculture Ministry, Secondary and Higher Education and Technical and Madrasa Education. The Secretaries of the Primary and Mass Education Ministry, Posts and Telecommunications Division, ICT Division and Road Transport and Highways Division have also been invited along with the Secretary of the National Parliament Secretariat. Heads of several key departments and agencies, including the Director Generals of Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar, the Directorate of Posts and the Department of Film and Publication; the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority; and the chief engineers of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and the Department of Educational Engineering; and the Inspector General of Prisons, are among the attendees. Besides, the Governor of Bangladesh Bank was asked to send the Executive Director of Credit Information Bureau or appropriate officer to attend the meeting. Bangladesh Republic Party gets registration with ‘Elephant’ symbol Earlier, on October 20 last, the EC sat in a views-exchange with different law enforcement agencies and intelligences in a bid to conduct the next election in free, participatory and fair manners. In late September 2025, the Commission opened a series of electoral dialogues with different stakeholders amid talks with civil society representatives on September 28 last ahead of the next general election to be held in early February 2026. Then the EC sat in another discussion with the representatives of teachers on the same day. On October 06, the Commission held two separate dialogues with senior journalists from different media outlets. The EC has also a plan to sit with other stakeholders, including political parties ahead of the national election.