EC Publishes Gazette for 296 Seats of 13th Parliamentary Election

The Election Commission of Bangladesh has published the official gazette for 296 seats in the 13th National Parliament election.

According to the published results, the BNP-led alliance is set to secure 35 of the 50 reserved women’s seats, while the Jamaat-led alliance may receive 13 seats, based on proportional allocation.

Party-wise Results

Under the declared results:

• Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won 209 seats independently.

• Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secured 68 seats.

• National Citizens Party (NCP) won 6 seats.

• Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis won 2 seats.

• Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party BJP, and Ganosamhati Andolon each secured 1 seat.

• Independent candidates won 7 seats.

Under alliance calculations, the BNP-led alliance’s total stands at 211 seats, while the Jamaat-led alliance holds 74 seats.

To qualify for one reserved women’s seat, a party or alliance must have at least six elected MPs. Independent members may join an alliance to become eligible for a reserved seat, though such moves could alter the final allocation.

Pending Constituencies

The gazette notifications for Chattogram-2 and Chattogram-4 have been suspended by a High Court order. Bogura-6 has been declared vacant, while voting in Sherpur-3 was postponed due to the death of a candidate. The final distribution of reserved women’s seats may slightly change after results from these four constituencies are finalized.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told the media that while at least six elected seats are required to obtain one reserved women’s seat, parties may contest for reserved seats on an alliance basis without any legal barrier.

Process for Reserved Women’s Seats

Under the Constitution, the National Parliament has 50 reserved seats for women. The election for these seats must be completed within 90 days of the publication of the general election gazette—meaning the Commission is expected to hold the vote by mid-May.

Newly elected MPs will vote in the reserved seats election. Parties or alliances will nominate candidates proportionate to their seat share. If more than one candidate contests a seat, voting will be held; if there is only one candidate, she will be declared elected unopposed.

According to the law, information on sworn-in MPs is sent from the Parliament Secretariat to the Election Commission within three working days. Parties or alliances must submit their candidate lists within 21 working days of gazette publication, and the Commission will prepare the final party-wise list for the reserved women’s seats within 30 working days thereafter.