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money on community events, make donations to local institutions and work to build public support through informal patron-client networks, the report said.

“A common perception in Bangladesh is that those unable to spend money cannot be credible candidates for MP.”

Many politicians interviewed for the report indicated that candidates often spend between Tk 2 to 5 crore to gain the favour of influential party leaders, particularly within the AL and Jatiya Party.

“In some cases, additional payments were allegedly made directly to members of the prime minister’s family to secure nominations,” it said.

Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujibul Haque denied the allegations brought on by the report. “This allegation is an absurd one. None have to pay for getting party nomination,” he told The Daily Star.

During the campaign phase, candidates need to spend Tk 3-5 crore or even more depending on the constituency and level of competition.

Candidates have to spend money on the day of the polls to secure votes on top of their electioneering costs: a minimum of Tk 50 lakh was spent on average per candidate on the election day.

Vote buying was a feature of all election contests in 2024, with payments per vote being Tk 1,000 to Tk 5,000.

Candidates in Bangladesh’s elections typically rely on formal and informal funding sources. The formal sources include contributions from political parties and personal savings.

Informal sources include donations from businesses, vested interest groups and sometimes illicit contributions from foreign actors and criminal syndicates.

This illegal funding typically originates from tax evasion, extortion and organised crime syndicates, which provide financial backing to candidates in exchange for political influence once elected, the report said.

Even after winning the election, some candidates need to spend another Tk 4 to 5 lakh to expedite administrative processes such as the official publication of election results or necessary documentation.

“Because of the highly expensive election process, only people who have wealth are getting the chance to enter into politics,” said Shahab Enam Khan, one of the researchers for the report and a professor of international relations at Jahangirnagar University.

As much as 85 percent of the MPs possess movable or liquid assets worth Tk 1 crore each or more in 2024, according to Transparency International Bangladesh. Nearly 82 percent of the lawmakers possessed assets worth more than Tk 1 crore in the 2018 parliament, according to Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik.

Some of the interviewees even said that the election expenditure might be about Tk 100 crore in some constituencies, said Nurul Huda Sakib, another researcher for the report.

“High election expenditure has become a normal matter. We reported the average figure of election expense, the figure might be much more than that.”

The high cost of elections is leading to an increasing number of businessmen entering politics, he said.

“This trend is also contributing to the growth of crony capitalism and kleptocracy,” said Sakib, a professor at Jahangirnagar University’s department of government and politics.

As much as 66 percent of the elected MPs were businessmen in the 2024 parliament. In the 1991 parliament, 38 percent of the MPs were businessmen. In the 1973 parliament, only 18 percent of the MPs were businessmen.

“The use of money and muscle have increased businessmen in politics and as a whole criminalised politics,” said Ruhin Hossain Prince, general secretary of Ruhin Hossain Prince.

To strengthen legal frameworks and promote a coordinated approach in deterring financial misconduct, kleptocracy and the illicit use of wealth in electoral processes, fostering collaboration among key institutions is essential, the report said.

It proposed a task force composed of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Information Commission of Bangladesh, the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Election Commission to oversee the political parties’ candidate selection processes and campaigns.

The report also suggested facilitating party nomination based on merit rather than privilege.