BNP’s pledge on women candidates falls short

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) released a list of potential candidates for 237 of the 300 constituencies for the upcoming general election on November 3rd. The list comprises 235 unique names, of which only ten are women, resulting in female candidates making up 4.25%. While the list is provisional, with candidates for 63 constituencies yet to be announced, it falls short of the party’s pledge for women to directly contest at least 5% of seats at the next election. 

Since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024, the BNP has been projecting itself as a liberal party championing women’s rights. The party’s much-publicised 31-point programme states that it aims to empower women by prioritising their nominations for parliamentary elections and local government positions.

As recently as three days before the candidates’ list was released, the party’s de facto chief, Tarique Rahman, claimed that his party rejects “any regressive idea that limits women’s potential.” 

Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of the standing committee who led the party’s delegation in discussions with the National Consensus Commission (NCC), asserted that the party seeks to have 10% of the seats contested by women, which they would ensure by amending the constitution if elected to power. The party additionally proposed that at least 5% of candidates nominated from each party for the general election slated for February 2026, should be female. The NCC adopted this threshold.

Begum Selima Rahman, one of only two female members of the party’s standing committee, hinted in mid-October 2025 that the party “may nominate at least 5% women candidates” for the upcoming election, and the number may increase further.

Despite promoting higher female participation in parliamentary elections and hinting at a higher percentage of female nominees immediately, the provisional list contradicts the BNP’s stance. Nine of the ten have been nominated for one constituency each, while the chairperson and party elder, Begum Khaleda Zia, has been nominated for three constituencies.

With Zia’s nomination in three constituencies, the party barely meets the minimum threshold of 5% female candidates (12 out of 237), proposed by the party itself. However, precedent from the elections in 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2008 reveals that the surplus constituency seats won by Zia were filled by male candidates from the party through by-elections that took place following the general elections. Therefore, it is likely that the party will nominate male candidates again for Zia’s two additional seats after the 2026 election, which would reduce the percentage of female candidates below the threshold. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami’s list of potential candidates, as reported in the media, contains no women despite the party agreeing to the 5% threshold.

The participation of women candidates in Bangladesh’s national parliament has historically been low since the country’s inception. To increase the number of female parliamentarians, Bangladesh introduced reserved seats for women in parliament. These members are selected by political parties based on the proportion of seats each party wins, and are in addition to the elected seats from 300 constituencies.  

During the NCC talks, a proposal to hold direct elections of women candidates for reserved seats was blocked by the BNP, because it deemed that now was “not the right time.” The party has a history on the issue. Its manifesto, ahead of the 2001 general election, pledged direct elections, only for the party to renege on the campaign promise upon forming government. 

Direct election for the reserved seats has long been a demand of the women’s rights movement. The Forum for Women’s Political Rights, formed in response to the interim government neglecting women’s rights, reiterated this point during the NCC discussions. While the NCC raised the number of seats reserved for women from 50 to 100 for the 2026 general election, it retained the system of selection.●