Most of BNP candidates in 13th parliamentary elections in debt:TIB

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed concern over the financial situation of candidates participating in the upcoming 13th national parliament elections. According to the organization, 59.41 percent of BNP candidates are in debt, which is the highest among all political parties.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman revealed this information at a press conference on the candidates' manifestos and financial information on Thursday (January 22). The main report was presented by the organization's Communication and Outreach Department Director Touhidul Islam.

According to TIB information, a total of 1,981 candidates, including 51 political parties and 249 independent candidates, are participating in the upcoming election. Of them, 1,732 are party candidates and 249 are independent. A total of 25.5 percent of the candidates have debts or liabilities. Their total debt is Tk 18,868.5 crore, of which the bank debt is Tk 17,471.67 crore.

TIB said that 59.41 percent of BNP candidates are in debt, which is the highest. The debt rate for independent candidates is 32.79 percent and 26.97 percent of Jatiya Party candidates are in debt.

Like every time, the participation of women candidates could not meet the target of 5 percent. More than 48 percent of the candidates are involved in business, 12.61 and 11.56 percent are in law and teaching professions respectively. Only 1.56 percent of the candidates have shown themselves as politicians.

Based on movable and immovable assets, this time the number of millionaire candidates is 891 and 27 are billionaires. Cases are currently pending against 530 of the candidates, which is 22.66 percent of the total candidates. In the past, cases were filed against 740 candidates, which is 31.64 percent.

Looking at the election expenses, it can be seen that the total declared expenditure of all party candidates is Tk 463.7 crore. The average expenditure of each candidate is about Tk 22.5 lakh. The highest expenditure was made by BNP (119.5 crore) and the second position was occupied by Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (80.6 crore).

According to the TIB report, 118 candidates have more movable assets of their spouses or dependents than 259 candidates, more buildings or flats than 118 candidates, and more land than 164 candidates.