Candidates hit polls campaign trail today

The country has entered a high-voltage election race ahead of the 13th parliamentary polls with the allocation of symbols on Wednesday, as candidates will formally begin campaigning today.

A total of 1,973 candidates are now in the race in 298 constituencies, following the withdrawal of 305 aspirants by the deadline. 

The candidates for Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 have yet to be finalised. The last date for withdrawal in the two constituencies was extended to Monday, following a legal battle over the delimitation of their boundaries.

Under electoral law, candidates are permitted to campaign from today until 7:30pm on 10 February, in line with the announced polls schedule.

Among the contenders are 288 candidates from the BNP, 224 from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, 32 from the National Citizen Party (NCP), 253 from Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), 192 from Jatiya Party (JaPa) and 90 from Gono Odhikar Parishad. A total of 249 independent candidates are also contesting the election, over 50 of whom are reportedly BNP rebels.

Former minister Abdul Latif Siddique, an expelled leader of the Awami League, which faces a ban on its activities, is also running as an independent candidate.

On Wednesday, returning officers officially allocated electoral symbols to the candidates. Party symbols were assigned to nominees of registered political parties, while independent candidates received symbols from the Election Commission’s approved list.

From today, all major political parties, including the BNP and Jamaat, will formally carry out their election campaigns.

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman will launch his campaign from Sylhet, and address seven public rallies across six districts on way back to Dhaka.

He is expected to outline his party’s election pledges, political priorities and plans to restore democracy, ensure good governance and address people’s day-to-day problems during the rallies.

Meanwhile, Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman will start campaigning through a public rally in his constituency, Dhaka-15.

The EC announced the schedule for the 13th parliamentary election on 11 December. 

According to the schedule, the much-anticipated parliamentary election and referendum will be held on the same day on 12 February. Voting will take place uninterrupted from 7:30am to 4:30pm. Both the election and referendum will be conducted using ballot papers in transparent ballot boxes.

Some 51 out of 60 registered political parties are contesting the election.

Even without them, though, the number of candidates making it onto the ballot this time will be the highest since 2008, despite the absence of the Awami League, and some other parties staying away of their own accord.

The number of contesting candidates in the 12th parliamentary election held in 2024 was 1,896. In 2018, the number of candidates who contested the 11th parliamentary election was 1,841.

The government-appointed press started printing ballot papers from Wednesday, said Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.

The election will be held in all 300 constituencies as issues over the Pabna-1 and 2 constituencies have been resolved, he said at a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.

Vote counting could take some additional time in this election, as a number of new processes have been included, like a referendum and postal ballots, the press secretary added.

Furthermore, the election officials will take the utmost caution to ensure the counting is accurate and objective, likely causing delays, he said.

Earlier in the day, the issue of extra time in vote counting was raised at a meeting on poll-time security measures chaired by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, Shafiqul noted.

The potential delay was floated early to avoid suspicions of irregularities, he said.

Policemen will use 25,500 bodycams to objectively detect and respond to security issues during the election. Footage from the cameras will be uploaded to the Surokkha mobile app in real time, allowing for prompt response to emergency situations, Shafiqul told reporters.

Amendments to electoral code of conduct

The Election Commission (EC) introduced several amendments to the electoral code of conduct with immediate effect on Wednesday.

Exercising its authority under Section 91(b) of the Representation of the People Order, the EC revised a number of provisions of the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Candidates in Parliamentary Elections, 2025.

The commission said the amended rules would come into force from the date of gazette notification.

Under a revised Sub-rule (3) of Rule 4, candidates are now explicitly barred from approving development projects or laying foundation stones during the pre-election period. 

The rule now states that such actions “shall not be done by the candidate,” removing ambiguity over personal involvement or influence.

Candidates must inform the local police at least 24 hours in advance of the proposed venue and time of a rally. Police will then take measures to maintain law and order and ensure smooth movement.

In addition, political parties and candidates must submit their campaign programmes in proposal form to the relevant authority before starting activities. If multiple parties seek to hold programmes at the same place and time, the authority concerned will coordinate the schedule.

Candidates are also prohibited from placing banners, festoons or billboards over those of rivals, or from damaging or distorting another candidate’s materials. The use of billboards has also been capped at one per union, municipality or metropolitan ward within a constituency, or a maximum of 20 across the entire constituency.

Restrictions have further been imposed on the use of loudspeakers at rallies. No more than three megaphones or loudspeakers may be used at a single public rally by a candidate or their supporters, although this limit will not apply to general campaign activities such as mobile or rickshaw-based campaigning.

The EC said the amendments aim to ensure a level playing field and a disciplined campaign environment, warning that punitive action will be taken against any violation of the revised code.

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