Bangla Press Desk: The BNP has nominated Eliza Zaman for the by-election to the reserved seat for women, which became vacant following the departure of Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti.
On Monday afternoon, BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi confirmed her nomination and handed her the party’s official letter of authorization.
Subsequently, Eliza Zaman submitted her nomination papers to the Returning Officer, Moin Uddin Khan, at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka.
Eliza is a member of the BNP’s National Executive Committee and also serves as the first joint convener of the party’s Pirojpur district branch.
She is actively involved in the BNP’s central, district, and women’s wing (Mahila Dal) politics. Her name appears on the party’s website as a member of the National Executive Committee.
In the partial convener committee for the Pirojpur district BNP, announced on September 21 last year, Eliza Zaman was appointed as the first joint convener. Nazrul Islam Khan was named the convener, and Saidul Islam Kismat was appointed as the member secretary.
Eliza Zaman also serves as the Barishal divisional organizing secretary for the central committee of the Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal. Previously, ahead of the 2018 national parliamentary election, she had collected a BNP nomination form for the Pirojpur-1 constituency, though she was not ultimately selected by the party.
The seat became vacant on October 1 following the resignation of Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti, who had held the reserved seat for women as a BNP representative.
The National Parliament consists of 350 seats in total. Of these, 300 members are elected directly by voters in their respective constituencies, while 50 seats are reserved for women.
These 50 seats are allocated among political parties or alliances in proportion to the number of seats they secure in the national election.
This allocation process is explicitly defined by law. In the current 13th Parliament, the BNP was allotted 36 seats reserved for women; Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti had become a Member of Parliament after being nominated for one of these seats.
Ferdousi Ahmed’s name surfaced in connection with an incident involving an attack, looting, and vandalism at the Radda MCH-FP health center in Mirpur, Dhaka. Consequently, acting on the instructions of Tarique Rahman, she resigned from her position as a Member of Parliament on October 1. In a letter signed by BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Eliza Zaman was named as the candidate for the party and its alliance. According to the letter, she has been nominated for the by-election to the 13th National Parliament for the vacant seat number 323 (reserved seat for women, number 23).
Over fifty individuals—including central BNP leaders, a former Member of Parliament, and organizers from the metropolitan and district levels—had collected nomination forms for this vacant parliamentary seat. Ultimately, the party nomination was awarded to Eliza Zaman.
The Election Commission (EC) announced the schedule for the by-election to this vacant seat on October 12.
As per the announced schedule, the deadline for submitting nomination papers to the returning officer is October 26. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on October 27, the final date for the withdrawal of candidature is November 1, and the polling date is set for November 12.
Under the law, only a candidate from the BNP is eligible to submit nomination papers for this vacant seat. Should there be multiple candidates, only the Members of Parliament belonging to the BNP-led alliance would be entitled to vote.
Typically, only a single candidate is fielded for a reserved seat for women; consequently, an actual vote is rarely required.
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