Two-thirds women’s reserved seat candidates highly educated, multimillionaires: TIB

Nearly two-thirds of candidates nominated for women’s reserved seats in the 13th National Parliamentary Election are highly educated and multimillionaires, according to a report published today (30 April) by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).

The findings are based on affidavit data submitted to the Election Commission by 49 candidates.

The study shows that around 65% of the nominees are multimillionaires, while more than 63% hold postgraduate or higher degrees.

TIB noted that candidates for reserved seats are ahead of directly elected Members of Parliament in terms of education. 

About 63.3% of the candidates have postgraduate qualifications, compared to 50.7% among general MPs. Overall, 52.63% of all lawmakers hold postgraduate or higher degrees.

Among the reserved-seat nominees, 27% are graduates, 4.1% have completed higher secondary education, while a small portion fall under secondary or self-educated categories.

The analysis also highlights strong wealth concentration among candidates. Of the 49 nominees, 32 (65.31%) are classified as multimillionaires based on movable and immovable assets.

Party-wise, 72.22% of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) nominees and 56% of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidates fall into this category. The sole nominee from Jatiya Ganatantrik Party is also a multimillionaire.

Candidates with annual incomes above Tk10 lakh account for 38.78%, compared to 67.9% among directly elected MPs. Overall, 77.3% of MPs in the 13th National Election are multimillionaires.

Professionally, lawyers dominate at 26.5%, more than double their share among general MPs (11%). Businesspersons make up 22.5%, followed by homemakers (12.2%), teachers (10.2%), and politicians (8.2%). Doctors and other professions each account for 4.1%.

Across the full parliament, business remains the dominant profession, representing 55.17% of members.

The combined assets of multimillionaire candidates stand at Tk152 crore, including Tk66 crore in immovable assets and Tk78 crore in movable assets.

At least three candidates reportedly own over 100 bhori of gold ornaments, with one holding 502 bhori.

Despite significant wealth, 20.41% of candidates have outstanding liabilities, though this is far lower than the 50.84% among directly elected MPs.

The average age of reserved-seat candidates is 52.17 years, with the largest group aged between 45 and 54. The overall average age across all MPs is 58.5 years.

In terms of party distribution, BNP leads with 36 nominees, followed by Jamaat-e-Islami with nine. Other parties, including JAGPA, NCP, Khelafat Majlish, and one independent candidate, have one nominee each.

Islamic parties account for 20.4% of candidates, while 79.6% belong to other or independent groups.

TIB said while the participation of highly educated women and professionals, particularly lawyers, is a positive development, the influence of wealth and dominance of certain professions in politics remains evident, with possible long-term implications.