Dhaka: The deadline for submission of nomination papers for the 12th parliamentary elections of Bangladesh expired on Thursday. Several political parties requested to the election commission that the deadline be extended but so far no such updates about extension of deadline were received from the commission.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and like-minded other parties have announced that they will enforce a 48-hour blockade across the country starting from Sunday morning. BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi came up with the announcement at a virtual press briefing on Thursday afternoon. It will be the ninth round of a blockade programme of the opposition parties since October 31 to protest the schedule for the next national election announced by the Election Commission (EC).
In another development, BNP Vice Chairman Shahjahan Omar has submitted a nomination paper as an Awami League candidate for Jhalakathi-1 constituency. Earlier on Wednesday, Shahajahan was released on bail from Jail. He was arrested in a case filed for setting a bus on fire in Dhaka’s New Market area on November 4.
Jatiya Party’s Secretary Chunnu has said there is no division within the party and it remains unified under party Chairman GM Quader’s leadership and it will contest in all 300 seats with its own symbol. However, Jatiya Party’s chief patron and opposition leader in parliament Raushan Ershad has announced on Wednesday not to participate in the polls as the party has undermined her.
The 12th parliamentary election will be held on January 7, 2024 as per the polls schedule announced by chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on November 15.
A total of 11,96,91,633 voters under 42,103 polling stations throughout the country are eligible to cast their votes in the 12th general election. The last 11th parliamentary election was held on December 30 in 2018.Bangladesh election, BNP, Khalida Zia, Sheikh Hasina