Nine candidates to vie for each seat in national polls

As many as 2,713 candidates have submitted their nomination papers for the 300 parliamentary seats across Bangladesh ahead of the 12th national elections, despite opposition to the electoral process by the BNP and like-minded parties.

Among them, 1,966 are affiliated with 32 registered political parties, while the remaining 747 individuals intend to run as independent candidates, reports bdnews24.com.

The Election Commission collected the data in collaboration with election officials nationwide after the nomination paper submission deadline expired on Thursday.

According to the statistics, one-fourth of all candidates intending to contest the polls are independent. An average of nine candidates are set to contest each seat at the elections.

Initially, the ruling Awami League submitted party nominations for 298 seats, and later, it nominated two candidates each for five seats. In contrast, the Jatiya Party, the opposition party in parliament, submitted nominations for 286 seats, followed by additional nominations of two candidates each for 18 seats.

The Election Commission is set to scrutinise the nomination papers from Friday to Monday. Appeals against the decisions made by returning officers can be lodged between Dec 5-9, with the EC resolving them from December 10-15. Candidates have until December 17 to withdraw their nominations.

Before the nomination withdrawal deadline, parties must inform the EC about their final candidates. In cases where multiple nominations exist for a single seat, the EC will finalise one candidate, automatically eliminating the others.