TDS Desk:

The Election Commission has redrawn the boundaries of 39 out of 300 parliamentary constituencies in preparation for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections, prioritising factors such as population, voter numbers, administrative systems, geographical integrity, and the 2022 census data.

The decision follows recommendations from a specialised technical committee comprising EC officials, geographers, cartographers, statisticians, urban planners, information technologists, and demographers.

Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar announced the changes at a press conference held at the Election Commission Secretariat on Wednesday.

He noted that the committee initially recommended adjusting the boundaries of 42 constituencies but finalized changes for 39 based on further evaluation.

According to the EC, the average number of voters per constituency is approximately 420,000.

The committee’s analysis revealed that Gazipur, with the highest voter population, will gain one additional seat, while Bagerhat, with the lowest, will lose one seat.

These adjustments align with Section 6 of the Delimitation Act 2021, which emphasizes administrative structure, geographical integrity, and census data in determining constituency boundaries.

The 39 constituencies with redrawn boundaries include: Panchagarh-1, 2; Rangpur-3; Sirajganj-1, 2; Satkhira-3, 4; Shariatpur-2, 3; Dhaka-2, 3, 7, 10, 14, 19; Gazipur-1, 2, 3, 5, 6; Narayanganj-3, 4, 5; Sylhet-1, 3; Brahmanbaria-2, 3; Cumilla-1, 2, 10, 11; Noakhali-1, 2, 4, 5; Chattogram-7, 8; and Bagerhat-2, 3.

EC Anwarul emphasised that the boundary adjustments were made to ensure equitable representation based on voter distribution and population data, as outlined in the committee’s report.