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Tue Jan 15, 2019 12:32 PM
Last update on: Tue Jan 15, 2019 07:30 PM

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Ruling Awami League today started selling nomination forms to aspirants for its 43 reserved seats for women in the 11th parliament.

The aspirants were seen thronged the AL president's Dhanmondi political office in Dhaka since morning to collect the nomination forms.

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AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader formally inaugurated the selling of the nomination forms, reports UNB.

The party has fixed Tk 30,000 as the price for each nomination paper.

Yesterday, the Election Commission said that it is likely to announce the polls schedule on February 17 for 50 parliamentary seats exclusively reserved for women.

The reserved seats' distribution will reflect the seat share in the directly elected 300 constituencies. According to the proportional representation in the parliament, Awami League will get women MPs from 43 reserved seats, Jatiya Party from 4 seats, BNP from one, and others will fill out the last two.

Out of the 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country, Awami League won in 259 constituencies, while Jatiya Party in 20 seats, BNP in six seats, Workers' Party in three constituencies, Gano Forum, Jasod and Bikalpadhara each in two seats, Tarikat Federation and JP (Manju) each in one seat in the recently held 11th general election.

Besides, independent candidates were elected in three constituencies in the polls held on December 30 last.

One remaining constituency Gaibanda-3 will go to polls on January 27, after the election there was postponed earlier following the death of a candidate.

The Election Commission has a legal obligation to arrange the polls to the 50 reserved seats within 90 days after the gazette of general election result is published.

The directly-elected members of parliament are the voters of the election.

If the number of nominated candidates by a political party is equal to its reserved seats, the contenders will be declared elected unopposed immediate after the last date for withdrawal of candidacy.

Meanwhile, the Jatiya Party will start selling nomination paper from tomorrow for its four reserved seats, sources at the party told The Daily Star this afternoon.

Ruling Awami League today started selling nomination forms to aspirants for its 43 reserved seats for women in the 11th parliament.

The aspirants were seen thronged the AL president's Dhanmondi political office in Dhaka since morning to collect the nomination forms.

Google News LinkFor all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader formally inaugurated the selling of the nomination forms, reports UNB.

The party has fixed Tk 30,000 as the price for each nomination paper.

Yesterday, the Election Commission said that it is likely to announce the polls schedule on February 17 for 50 parliamentary seats exclusively reserved for women.

The reserved seats' distribution will reflect the seat share in the directly elected 300 constituencies. According to the proportional representation in the parliament, Awami League will get women MPs from 43 reserved seats, Jatiya Party from 4 seats, BNP from one, and others will fill out the last two.

Out of the 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country, Awami League won in 259 constituencies, while Jatiya Party in 20 seats, BNP in six seats, Workers' Party in three constituencies, Gano Forum, Jasod and Bikalpadhara each in two seats, Tarikat Federation and JP (Manju) each in one seat in the recently held 11th general election.

Besides, independent candidates were elected in three constituencies in the polls held on December 30 last.

One remaining constituency Gaibanda-3 will go to polls on January 27, after the election there was postponed earlier following the death of a candidate.

The Election Commission has a legal obligation to arrange the polls to the 50 reserved seats within 90 days after the gazette of general election result is published.

The directly-elected members of parliament are the voters of the election.

If the number of nominated candidates by a political party is equal to its reserved seats, the contenders will be declared elected unopposed immediate after the last date for withdrawal of candidacy.

Meanwhile, the Jatiya Party will start selling nomination paper from tomorrow for its four reserved seats, sources at the party told The Daily Star this afternoon.

Related News

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Awami League leader Jahangir Kabir Nanak did not get his party's ticket to contest the upcoming 11th parliamentary election from Dhaka-13.

In his place, Dhaka City North unit AL General Secretary Sadek Khan was nominated to fight the battle of ballots in one of the key constituencies in Dhaka.

The ruling-AL this morning started distribution of party nomination letters among its candidates.

AL nomination
Read more

Awami League-nominated candidates

The party’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader are handing out the nomination papers among the candidates from 10:00am at the party’s headquarters in Dhaka.

Photo taken from Facebook/ Tasnuva Sadek Khan

Who is Nanak?

Nanak is the current joint secretary general of Awami League. He was promoted to the post from organising secretary of the party in 2012.

He was dropped from the then polls-time cabinet as state minister for Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Ministry in 2013.

The 64-year old lawyer by profession, Nanak was elected as a lawmaker for Dhaka-13 in 2014.

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The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the next parliamentary election on November 8.

The decision came at a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda in the chair. Four other election commissioners, EC secretary and some high officials of the EC were present.

“The Commission had earlier decided to announce the election schedule on November 4 [yesterday]. But we have now decided to unveil it on November 8, considering the overall situation,” said Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury while briefing journalists after the meeting at the Nirbachon Bhaban.

The CEC will announce the schedule in an address to the nation through Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar in the evening of November 8, he added.

Asked about the polling day, Shahadat said election would be held within 45 days from announcement of the schedule.

Therefore, the 11th parliamentary election is likely to be held between December 20 and December 23, said sources at the EC.

On November 3, the Jatiya Oikyafront, an alliance formed recently by the BNP, Gonoforum, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Nagorik Oikya and Forward Party, wrote to the CEC not to announce the polls schedule until the end of the ongoing talks that began on November 1.  

On November 1, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led a 23-member delegation of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance, while Oikyafront leader Dr Kamal Hossain led a 20-member team in a discussion that focused on reaching a consensus over holding the next general election in a fair, credible and inclusive manner.

Although the talks were held in a congenial atmosphere, the PM gave no assurance that the government would meet the Oikyafront's demands, meeting sources said.

RULES FOR EVM USE

At yesterday's briefing, Shahadat said they had finalised the rules for using electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the upcoming general election.

About the use of EVMs, he said the EVMs would be used on a limited scale in the polling centres in urban areas.

The EC yesterday finalised the rules for filing nomination papers online, the election commissioner added.

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Voter turnout in the 11th parliamentary polls might have been 30 percent and another 50 percent was shown "farcically", noted economist and former caretaker government adviser Dr Akbar Ali Khan said today.

Voter turnout of the national polls was shown to be more than 80 percent; on the other hand, it was less than 30 percent in city corporation polls, he told the inaugural ceremony of Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik's (Shujan) 7th National Council-2020 held at the city's Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh.

Usually, voter turnout in general polls is low because political parties are not organised at grassroots level as per expectation, he said.

But when union parishad or municipality polls take place, local candidates remain proactive and they put extra effort to make their relatives, friends and well-wishers cast their votes, he said.

"So, in no way voter turnout of general election could surpass the turnout of municipality polls," he added.

The overall turnout in the recently held Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) polls was 29 percent while it was 25.32 percent in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) election.

Akbar Ali Khan said the Election Commission should examine turnout at each polling centre before declaring the polls result.

If it is seen that turnout is 100, 98 or 95 percent then they should immediately suspend the voting on the ground of false votes, he said.

If the EC can monitor voting result in such a way, many irregularities will be apparent, he added.

He also said no effective measure was taken to earn people's trust on electronic voting machines (EVM) and its function.

The EVMs seem effective considering the technology. However, in many countries there are controversies regarding EVMs and it is necessary to be cautious about their use in Bangladesh, he said.

Akbar Ali lauded Shujan's efforts as a platform campaigning for good governance and said it should stick to a one-point mandate during the course of its future movement, which is the demand for fair election.

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BNP today came down heavily on the Election Commission for hurriedly announcing the schedule for the next parliamentary election and said all have been set to hold a lopsided election.

“An arrangement has been done to hold a lopsided election,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul came up with the reaction hours after the announcement of the national polls schedule.

In his instant reaction, Fakhrul said the government’s desire has been reflected through the announcement of the schedule for the 11th parliamentary election.

Earlier, Fakhrul held an emergency meeting with BNP’s alliance partner at party Chief Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in Dhaka to devise the next course of the programme in the backdrop of the polls schedule announcement.

Earlier, Fakhrul held an emergency meeting with BNP’s alliance partner at party Chief Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in Dhaka to devise the next course of programme in the backdrop of the polls schedule announcement.

Coming out of the meeting, Fakhrul said that the countrymen would never accept any election that goes against their hopes and aspirations.

He said a delegation of Jatiya Oikyafront met the chief election commissioner and other commissioners and requested them to defer the polls schedule announcement date but they did not take the call into account.

The schedule for the next general election was announced ignoring people’s hope and expectation, he claimed.

11th parliamentary election schedule

The 11th parliamentary election will be held on December 23, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda announced while addressing the nation this evening.

He announced the schedule for the 11th parliamentary polls in his televised speech amid strong opposition from Jatiya Oikyafront, comprising the BNP and several other parties.

The CEC said the aspirants will have to submit their nomination papers by November 19.

The nomination papers will be scrutinised on November 22, he said adding that the last date for withdrawing candidature is November 29.

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Dr Kamal Hossain led-Jatiya Oikyafront will unveil its decision on joining or boycotting the 11th parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Dr Kamal Hossain will announce the decision at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club at 1pm, said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Talking to reporters at BNP chairperson's Gulshan office after a meeting of the Oikyafront, he said, "BNP standing committee and 20-party leaders had meetings before the Jatiya Oikyafront's one to decide about election participation. After a long discussion, we've taken a decision that Jatiya Oikyafront leader Dr Kamal Hossain will inform the nation about our decision through a press conference."

Earlier, the BNP standing committee members followed by 20-party leaders held the meeting at the same venue.

After the meeting of the 20-party alliance, LDP president Oli Ahmed said their alliance will come up with its final decision on joining the 11th parliamentary elections within a day or two.

"We discussed the election issue and the country's overall situation. We didn't take the final decision yet whether we'll participate in the election or boycott it. Our alliance's main partner BNP will make the decision public after discussion with Jatiya Oikyafront within a day or two," he added.

Oil said their alliance is now giving its main focus on the release of their leader Khaleda Zia. "She'll have to be freed to ensure an election atmosphere."

Accusing the government of arresting the leaders and activists of the 20-party alliance, he said a level-playing field is yet to be created.

Replying to a question, Oli said the registered political parties under the 20-party will write letters to the Election Commission on Sunday informing it that they may contest the polls either with their own election symbols or with BNP's election symbol if they decide to participate in the election.

He, however, said his party, LDP, will contest the election with its own symbol if they finally join it.

Top leaders of the 20-party alliance joined the hour-long meeting that began around 6:15pm.

Earlier, BNP standing committee members held a meeting there and discussed the election issues.

After the meeting with the 20-party, top leaders of the Jatiya Oikyafront also sat in the meeting with the BNP senior leaders.

However, Oikyafront chief Dr Kamal Hossain could not join the meeting due to his illness.

On Thursday evening, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda in a televised address to the nation announced the schedule for the next general election.

As per the schedule, the 11th parliamentary elections will be held on December 23 (Sunday) while the last date for submitting nomination papers is November 19, the date for scrutinising nomination papers is November 22 and the last date for the withdrawal of nomination papers is November 29.

 

Polls schedule

The 11th parliamentary election will be held on December 23, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda announced on Thursday.

According to the schedule, the last date for filing nomination papers for candidacy is November 19. The returning officers will scrutinise the nomination papers on November 22 while the last date for withdrawing candidacy is November 29.

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