The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has started selling nomination forms for the reserved women’s seats in the 13th National Parliament. Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the process at the party’s central office in Naya Paltan, Dhaka, on Friday morning. The sale will continue until Sunday, April 12. Each form costs 2,000 taka, with an additional 50,000 taka required as a security deposit. Rizvi said that priority will be given to women who played significant roles in past movements, possess strong educational backgrounds, and have the ability to speak effectively in parliament.

He added that the party’s parliamentary board will decide on the final nominations and urged all aspirants to maintain party discipline. Rizvi emphasized the need for vibrant parliamentary discussions as a core strength of democracy. The Election Commission has scheduled the reserved women’s seat election for May 12, with nomination submissions closing on April 21 and symbol allocation on April 30.

According to the announced schedule, the 13th Parliament will include 50 reserved seats for women, with the BNP alliance holding 36, the Jamaat-e-Islami alliance 13, and independents one.