Candidates across Bangladesh submitted their nomination papers on Monday in a relatively calm and orderly process ahead of the country's upcoming national election on February 12.
According to election officials, the final day for filing nominations passed without incident, with most candidates submitting their papers before the 5:00pm deadline.
According to preliminary figures, 3,144 nomination papers were collected across the country during the filing period, but only 166 nominations were submitted prior to the deadline, indicating a late surge in participation.
The Election Commission (EC) stated that it would be unable to compile the final number of candidates running for the country's 300 parliamentary seats by Monday evening.
Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, speaking to reporters at the EC headquarters in Dhaka, said there would be no further extensions to the nomination deadline.
"The deadline for submitting nomination papers will not be extended," he said, adding that information on the total number of contestants would be released once verification was completed.
On Monday, a number of prominent political figures filed their nomination papers. Khaleda Zia, the BNP's chairperson and former Prime Minister, filed a nomination to run in Feni-1, while Tarique Rahman, the party's acting chairman, filed nominations in Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6.
Dr Shafiqur Rahman, Ameer of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, has filed his nomination to run from Dhaka-15, while the party's Secretary General, Mia Golam Parwar, has filed papers from Khulna-5.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP Secretary General, has also filed his nomination to run for Thakurgaon-1 seat.
The Election Commission announced the schedule for the 13th National Parliamentary Election on 11 December, confirming that voting will be held alongside a referendum on the implementation of the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Order.
Under the election timeline, nomination papers will be scrutinised between December 30 and January 4, with candidates being allowed to withdraw their nominations until January 20. Official campaigning will begin on 22 January and end 48 hours before polling day.
For this election, the Commission has appointed 69 returning officers, including divisional commissioners, regional election officers and district deputy commissioners, to oversee the electoral process.
On 12 December, the announcement of the election schedule marked the start of the nomination process. Election officials said the peaceful filing of nominations marked a key procedural milestone as the country moved towards the polls.
