The ruling Awami League has finalized the name of its candidates of all 300 seats across the country in its Parliamentary Nomination Board's three days meeting that was convened on Thursday morning.
AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader will announce the names of the candidates at a press conference at 4:00pm on Sunday from the party's central office at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka.
Earlier at 10:00am on Sunday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also President of Awami League, will hold a view exchange meeting with the aspiring 3,362 candidates intending to contest the national election on January 7 with the Boat symbol.
According to the senior leaders of the Awami League, the Prime Minister will give necessary instructions to all aspiring candidates in the meeting. She may also warn those who are intending to contest the polls as independent candidates if they are not given nomination from the party.
While talking to media at the party President Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi office on Saturday, AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader informed that he will announce the names of all 300 candidates the party has finalised in its Parliamentary Nomination Board's three-day meeting that ended on Saturday.
Regarding the nominations of the AL candidates, the AL General Secretary said, "The nomination will be given comprising the old and new candidates. Those who have acceptability to the people will be considered. We have been rethinking about those who have lost their popularity and acceptability to the mass people and party. Those who have prospect of winning will be given nominations, because we need candidates who can win the election. It would be the standard of nominating a candidate from the party."
In response to a query from the media about contesting the polls with alliance and seat sharing between the parties in the pro-AL alliance, Quader said, "It's not yet decided that they will contest the polls together or not. Our leader Sheikh Hasina is the chief of 14-party alliance. We have not yet decided to share the seats among the partners of the alliance. It would be decided considering the overall situation."
"We haven't yet decided whether we need any partner of the alliance. The alliance is formed against the alliances. If our opposition parties form a big alliance, then our alliance will be needed. If they don't form it then why will we form it? If it's not needed, we will not form an alliance," Quader added.
Regarding the acceptability of the alliance partners, he said, "We have to see the acceptability of the alliance partners to the people. I cannot guarantee that I can win the election though I do the politics of a party and am working in an alliance."
In the first day of the AL Parliamentary Nomination Board's meeting, the candidates of Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions have been finalized while the candidates of Dhaka, Mymensingh and Khulna were finalized on Friday and candidates from Chattogram, Barishal and Sylhet were finalized on Saturday.