Campaigning ends as candidates head for polls

Campaigning for the 13th National Parliamentary Election ended this morning, 48 hours before voting is set to commence. All electoral activities were halted at 7:30 am on Tuesday, February 9, concluding a 20-day campaign period that began on January 22.

The 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum will be held on Thursday, February 12. Voting will take place simultaneously in 299 parliamentary constituencies from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm using ballots cast into transparent ballot boxes.

The Election Commission has cancelled the election in the Sherpur-3, Sribardi–Jhenaigati, constituency following the death of Jamaat-e-Islami's nominated candidate, Nuruzzaman Badal, 51, who was also the secretary of the party’s Sherpur district unit. He passed away in the early hours of February 2.

According to the Representation of the People Order, RPO, all forms of electoral campaigning by candidates must cease 48 hours before the start of voting.

Section 18 of the Election Commission’s Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Candidates, 2025, states: “No registered political party, its nominated candidate, independent candidate, or any person on their behalf may begin any form of electoral campaign more than three weeks before the scheduled date of polling, and must conclude all campaigning 48 hours prior to the commencement of voting.”

Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed confirmed that political party campaigning would end at 7:30 am on February 10, 48 hours before voting begins.

Sources within the Election Commission report that 51 political parties are participating in the 13th National Parliamentary Election. The total number of candidates stands at 2,034, of whom 275 are independent. A total of 42,779 polling centres have been set up.

The total number of voters registered for the 13th National Parliamentary Election is 12 crore, 77 lakh, 11 thousand, and 793. This includes 6 crore, 48 lakh, 25 thousand, and 361 male voters; 6 crore, 28 lakh, 85 thousand, and 200 female voters; and 1,232 voters of the third gender.