NCP leader Monira Sharmin’s nomination for a reserved women’s seat in Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliament has come under legal scrutiny. The nomination submission deadline was April 22, when candidates from the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami filed their papers. However, Sharmin’s eligibility is being questioned because she resigned from a state-owned bank only four months ago, in December 2025, falling short of the three-year requirement for former government employees to contest elections.

According to Article 12 of the Representation of the People Order (RPO), anyone who has not completed three years since resigning or retiring from a government or statutory position cannot run for parliament. Election Commission officials confirmed that this rule also applies to reserved women’s seats. If Sharmin’s nomination is canceled, the alliance could lose one of its 13 seats, potentially benefiting the ruling BNP-led coalition, whose seat count could rise from 36 to 37.

Alliance coordinator Hamidur Rahman Azad expressed confidence that the nomination would not be canceled, while Sharmin argued that her former position was not a profit-based government post and that the rule should not apply to party nominations.