Reserved women's seats election possible in February: EC

Additional Secretary of the Election Commission (EC) Ashok Kumar Debnath said the announcement of reserved seats for women in the twelfth National Parliament election, with voting expected to take place in February, may be declared next week.

He shared this information with journalists at the Agargaon Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital on Tuesday.

He added that, "I have received the list of those who will be the voters from the Parliament Secretariat. The voter list will be published in the same way as the regular voter list is published. If there are no objections after publication, it will be the final voter list. Subsequently, the detailed announcement will be made with the commission's approval. If necessary, there will be an election; otherwise, there won't be."

There are 50 reserved seats for women in the 300-seat National Parliament. Regarding the allocation of these seats, when asked by journalists about the political decision-making process, Debnath responded, "This will be a political decision. The commission has no statement on how it will happen. We will send letters to the political parties, and they will decide according to the quota how many they will get."

In response to questions about the distribution of seats among independent candidates without forming alliances, he commented, "It will be difficult. They will decide, and then it will be done. It is a political matter, and we have nothing to say on this issue."

Regarding the matter, a journalist asked whether the announcement would be made for the remaining 40 reserved seats for women if the 10 seats allocated to independents are excluded.

In response, the additional secretary said, "That will be seen later. If they do not decide anything, then arrangements will be made according to the situation at that time."