Dhaka, Feb 10 (V7N) — The official election campaigning period for candidates contesting the 13th National Parliament election ended at 7:30 am on Tuesday (February 10), marking the close of weeks of political activities across the country.

In the final hours before the deadline, candidates, along with their party workers and supporters, conducted last-minute mass rallies, some continuing until midnight. From door-to-door visits to public gatherings, candidates traversed their respective constituencies seeking voter support, pledging to address local problems and improve public services.

Several candidates said that every minute and every second was crucial in the closing moments of the campaign, prompting many to resume canvassing at daybreak. Most contenders expressed optimism about their chances of victory, provided the election is conducted in a free, fair, and credible manner. However, in some areas, allegations were raised against rival candidates. Amid these tensions, voters have called for a peaceful and orderly election environment.

According to Election Commission (EC) Secretariat sources, ballot papers have already been dispatched to the returning officers in 49 districts, while ballots for the remaining districts are scheduled to reach their destinations by Sunday.

Meanwhile, the EC has canceled voting in the Sherpur-3 constituency following the death of a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate. As a result, the 13th National Parliament election will be held in 299 constituencies, instead of all 300, on the scheduled polling day.

A total of 127,711,899 voters are registered to cast their ballots in this election. Among them, 64,825,154 are male voters, 62,885,525 are female voters, and 1,220 are third-gender voters.

According to Election Commission data, the lowest number of voters among the constituencies is 228,431 in Jhalakathi-1, while the highest number of voters is 843,333 in Gazipur-2 constituency.

In total, 51 political parties are participating in the election, with 2,034 candidates contesting the polls. Of these, 275 are independent candidates. Among the political parties, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has fielded the highest number of candidates, totaling 291.

END/SMA/AJ