COX'S BAZAR, Jan 21, 2026: Electoral symbols have been allotted to 17 candidates contesting the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election in four constituencies of the district.
The symbol allocation began at around 10 am on Wednesday in the conference room of the office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and District Returning Officer. DC Md A Mannan handed over the symbols to the candidates in phases.
In Cox's Bazar-1 constituency (Chakaria-Pekua), three candidates received their symbols. BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed was allotted the 'Sheaf of Paddy', Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Abdullah Al Farooq got the 'Scale' symbol , while Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB) candidate Md Sarwar Alam Qutubi received the 'Hand Fan'.
In Cox's Bazar-2 constituency (Maheshkhali-Kutubdia), five candidates were allotted symbols. Jamaat-e-Islami Central Committee Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad received the 'Scale', BNP candidate Alamgir Muhammad Mahfuz Ullah Fardi the 'Sheaf of Paddy', IAB candidate Joyaul Haque the 'Hand Fan', Gono Odhikar Parishad (GOP) candidate SM Roknuzzaman Khan the 'Truck', and Jatiya Party (JaPa) candidate Md Mahmudul Karim the 'Plough'.
In Cox's Bazar-3 constituency (Sadar-Ramu-Eidgaon), five candidates received symbols. BNP candidate Lutfur Rahman Kajal was allotted the 'Sheaf of Paddy', Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Shahidul Alam Bahadur the 'Scale', IAB candidate Amirul Islam the 'Hand Fan', Labour Party candidate Jagadish Barua the 'Pineapple', and Amjanata Dal candidate Nurul Absar the 'Butterfly'.
In Cox's Bazar-4 constituency (Ukhiya-Teknaf), four candidates were given symbols. BNP candidate Shahjahan Chowdhury received the 'Sheaf of Paddy', Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Nur Ahmed Anowari the 'Scale', IAB candidate Nurul Haque the 'Hand Fan', and Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM) candidate Saifuddin Khaled the 'Ring'.
Earlier, nomination papers of 20 candidates were declared valid-following appeal hearings-out of 23 aspirants who had submitted nominations for the four parliamentary seats in Cox's Bazar. Later, three candidates withdrew their nominations on Tuesday, bringing the total number of contestants down to 17.
Meanwhile, regarding the nomination of independent candidate Md Ilias Mia from Cox's Bazar-3 constituency, which was earlier rejected during scrutiny, the district returning officer said no directive from the Election Commission had yet reached Cox's Bazar following a High Court order on the matter. He added that appropriate steps would be taken once any such instruction is received.
According to the announced schedule, election campaigning will run from January 22 until 7:30am on February 10. Voting in the 13th parliamentary election and referendum will be held on February 12.
