77 percent of the candidates from religious and ethnic minority communities contesting the 13th parliamentary election are highly educated. Some of them have undergraduate degrees, while others have postgraduate degrees. These also include PhD degree candidates.
Thirty-four percent of the candidates from minority communities are businessmen by profession while 16 percent are from the legal profession. This information came to light from the analysis of affidavits submitted by the candidates to the Election Commission.
A total of 79 candidates from religious and ethnic minority communities are contesting the elections this time as candidates from different political parties and as independents. Among political parties, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) has fielded the highest number of minority candidates, 17.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has nominated six candidates from minority communities in this election. Jamaat-e-Islami has nominated a candidate from the minority community for the first time. The National Citizen Party (NCP) has also fielded a candidate from the minority community.