Women MPs: Qualification of 6 candidates bellow SSC, 4 SSC

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The academic qualification of six women candidates, out of 48, against the reserved MP seats is bellow SSC while that of four others is SSC.

 

The educational qualification of four other candidates is HSC and 16 have graduation degrees while the remaining 18 others have post-graduation degrees.

 

Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujan), a non-governmental organisation working on good governance, came up with the statistics at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on Tuesday.

 

All the 14 candidates whose academic qualification is HSC or less than HSC are from ruling Awami League.

 

Presenting the keynote paper, co-coordinator of Sujan Sanjida Haque Bipasha said they found the statistics analysing the affidavits of the 48 women candidates who are going to be elected MP uncontested.

 

Among the candidates, 12 (25 percent) are businessmen while 11 (22.93 percent) are lawyers, five service-holders, three farmers, three housewives and 14 (29.16 percent) belong to other professions.

 

Only five candidates, all from AL, had been accused in cases in the past, but none is currently accused in any case.

 

Two candidate has wealth, including that of dependents, worth more than Tk 5 crore each while 10 (20.83 percent) others over 1 crore each and 14 (29.16pc) over Tk 50 lakh each.

 

The annual income of one candidate, including that of dependents, is more than 1 crore each while that of another is over Tk 50 lakh, three over Tk 25 lakh each, 13 more than Tk five lakh each, 20 over Tk two lakh each and seven is less than tk two lakh each.

 

The assets of nine candidates, who were also MPs in the ninth parliament, rose by 224 percent on an average between 2008 and 2013, according to the affidavits they submitted with nomination papers, while their income went up by 151 percent.

 

Addressing the press conference, Sujan secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder said the justified and meaningful participation of the women in the Parliament is needed to establish a true democracy in the country.

 

He opined that the election system of the reserved seats should be changed and the representation of the women in parliament should be enhanced.

 

Dr Alam suggested the direct election to the reserved parliament seats put aside for the women.

 

He also alleged that the Awami League did not keep its promise though the party pledged in its ‘charter of change’ to raise the representation of women in the parliament to one-third proportion.

 

Besides, Sujan members Mohammad Jahangir and Professor Nazma Hasina spoke on the function.

 

The Election Commission is going to declare 48 women elected MPs from reserved seats on Wednesday as they have no rivals, and no one of them pulled out of the polls race by Tuesday, the last date for the withdrawal of candidature.

 

Of the 48 candidates, the largest number of 38 have been nominated by the ruling Awami League, while five by HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party, three by a coalition of 16 independent MPs and one each by Workers Party and Jasad.

 

On February 23, the EC announced the polls schedule for the reserved seats which are exclusively for women fixing the voting for March 29, but the date was later moved to April 3.

Source: UNBConnect

1 COMMENT

  1. They are only nominated MPs . If one can become Prime minister without ever passing SSC then why not them.?

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