The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party electoral alliance today announced a list of 13 candidates for the women’s reserved seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, soon after BNP released its own list.

The list, signed by Hamidur Rahman Azad, Jamaat’s assistant secretary general and coordinator of the alliance, was sent to the media from the party’s central publicity department around 7:30pm today.

According to the list, eight of the candidates are from Jamaat, two from National Citizen Party (NCP), and one each from the Jatiya Gonotantrik Party (Jagpa), and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis. One candidate represents a July martyr’s family.

The Jamaat nominees are Nurunnisa Siddika, secretary of the central women’s wing; Marzia Begum, its assistant secretary; Sabikun Nahar Munni, secretary of the law and human resources department; Mardia Momtaz, a teacher at Daffodil International University; Nazmun Nahar Nilu, secretary of publicity and cultural affairs; Mahfuza Hannan, a Jamaat leader from Sylhet; Sajeda Samad, a Bogura-based leader and former upazila women vice-chairman; and Shamsunnahar Begum, a leader from Chattogram.

The NCP nominees are Monira Sharmin, convener of the party’s women’s platform “Jatiya Narishakti”, and its member secretary Mahmuda Alam Mitu.

Jagpa Chairperson Tasmia Pradhan and Mahbuba Hakim, a member of the women’s wing of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, have also been nominated.

Rokeya Begum, mother of six-year-old July martyr Jabir Ibrahim, has been nominated as well.

Mahbuba Siddika, one of the nominees, is reportedly the niece of Maulana Mamunul Haque, ameer of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis.

The nomination papers of the candidates are scheduled to be submitted tomorrow (Tuesday) to the Election Commission office in Dhaka’s Agargaon.

According to the Election Commission’s schedule, the election will be held on May 12.

The 50 reserved seats for women in parliament are allocated to parties in proportion to their representation in general seats, with one reserved seat for every six general seats. Accordingly, the BNP-led alliance is expected to get 36 seats, the Jamaat-led alliance 13, and independents one seat.

Leaders of the 11-party alliance had announced on January 16 that they would contest the election jointly. The alliance is now distributing the reserved women’s seats among its partners.