Voting ends in crucial Bangladesh polls, counting begins

Dhaka, Feb 12: Bangladesh people on Thursday voted in the crucial general elections, marred by sporadic incidents of violence, to elect a new government to replace the interim administration which took charge after the fall of the Awami League regime in August 2024. The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package. The voting began in 299 out of 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country from 7:30 am (local time) amid tight security and continued until 4:30 pm. However, in places where voters were inside the polling station, the voting will continue until they vote.

The counting of votes has already begun in many places. The election in one constituency has been cancelled due to the death of a candidate.

The election is seen as a direct contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its once ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ interim government last year disbanded the Awami League and barred it from contesting the polls. Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said around 48 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 2 pm nationwide, state-run BSS news agency reported. Nearly 127 million voters were registered to cast their ballots across 42,779 polling centres in 299 constituencies nationwide. The top leaders of Bangladesh’s two major contending parties, as well as chief adviser Yunus, cast their ballots early in the day.