After the results of the 13th parliamentary elections held in Bangladesh, the swearing-in ceremony of the Bangladesh government will be held on February 17 (Tuesday) under the leadership of Bangladesh Nationalist Party President Tariq Rahman. If we look at the election results, this is the first time in Bangladesh in more than two decades that the representation of winning candidates from women and religious-ethnic minority communities has been the lowest.

The number of women members decreased

This election shows a major decline in women’s representation in Parliament compared to recent elections. Only 7 women have reached Parliament after winning the parliamentary elections. Out of the 7 women selected, 6 are BNP candidates. The seventh woman is an independent candidate, who was expelled from the BNP before the elections.

Earlier, in the 12th national elections of 2024, 19 women had won on general seats, whereas this time this number has reduced to 7. This is the first time since 2001 that women have the lowest representation in Parliament. According to Bangladesh Election Commission data, only 84 women contested this election, which is only 4.08 percent of the total candidates.

These women candidates reached Parliament

1. BNP candidate Afroza Khanum won from Manikganj-3. He defeated Muhammad Saeed Noor of Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis by more than 60 thousand votes.
2. BNP alliance candidate Israt Sultana Ellen Bhutto won from Jhalakathi-2. He defeated SM Neyamul Karim.
3. BNP candidate Tehsina Rushdir won from Sylhet-2 by 79 thousand 321 votes. He has defeated Muhammad Muntasir Ali of Bangladesh Khilafat Majsil.
4. BNP candidate Farzana Sharmin won from Natore-1 seat.
5. BNP candidate Shama Obaid Islam won from Faridpur-2 seat.
6. Independent candidate Rumin Farhana reached Parliament by winning from Brahmanbaria-2, she got 117,495 votes.
7. BNP candidate Nayaab Yusuf Ahmed has won in Faridpur-3.

Decreased number of members of religious-ethnic minorities

At the same time, the four candidates who have won from religious and ethnic minority communities are all from Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). In this, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy has won from Dhaka-3 seat, Nitai Roy Choudhary from Magura-2, Saching Pru from Bandarban, Dipen Devan from Rangamati. The number of minority members has also decreased. 18 minorities were directly elected in the 2018 elections. 14 minority candidates had won in the 2024 parliamentary elections, out of which 12 were from Awami League.

(Input – Dushyant Shekhar)