Dhaka, Feb 12 (.) The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, was headed towards a decisive victory, leading in over 175 seats, while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance was leading in around 30 seats, according to unofficial results of the key national elections held in Bangladesh today.
According to some Bangladeshi outlets, out of 129 seats where unofficial results have been declared or effectively settled, the BNP alliance has won 96, the Jamaat-led bloc has secured 32, and an independent candidate has won one.
A party or alliance requires 151 seats for a simple majority in the 300-member Jatiya Sangsad.
According to local reports, the BNP has already crossed this halfway mark.
Tarique Rahman has won both seats that he contested, Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6, with significant margins. Tarique Rahman was declared unofficial winner in BOgura-6 with 2,16,284 votes. His nearest rival Abidur Rahman secured 97,626 votes.
Hasnat Abdullah, the youth leader from the 2024 uprising of the National Citizen Party, won the Comilla-4 seat by a margin of 1.46 lakh votes.
Among other notable winners: BNP’s Fazlur Rahman secured a landslide victory in Kishoreganj-4. BNP’s Mostafa Kamal Pasha won the Chattogram-3 seat. Jamaat’s ATM Azharul Islam unofficially won the Rangpur-2 seat.
Voters also simultaneously cast ballots on the July Charter, a proposed constitutional reform package introduced by the interim government. Preliminary unofficial results show approximately 77% support for the reform package. Among the key reforms proposed include a 10-year term limit for the post of Prime Minister and the creation of an upper house in parliament.
The Election Commission recorded a turnout of 47.91% by 2:00 PM local time. Final estimates suggest that the total turnout may reach 55%. The polls were the first in decades without the Awami League, which was banned by the interim government.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has rejected the election as a “farce” and claimed the turnout was far lower than officially reported.
The Thirteenth National Assembly elections and the referendum on the July Charter were held simultaneously across the country in a festive and peaceful atmosphere. This polling festival started from 7:30 am and ended at 4:30 pm.
According to the Election Commission, the total number of voters in this election is 12 crore 77 lakh 11 thousand 793 people. Among them, 6 crore 48 lakh 25 thousand 361 are male voters, 6 crore 28 lakh 85 thousand 200 female voters and one thousand 232 third gender (Hijra) voters.
Voting was held today in 42,779 polling stations across the country. There are total 2,47,482 polling booths. Fifty political parties participated in the election. Total candidates are 2,028, while 1,755 parties and 273 independents contested. There are 83 women candidates.
BNP has expressed confidence in forming the government by winning more than two-thirds of the seats in the 13th National Assembly elections.
Mahdi Amin, spokesperson of the committee and advisor to the BNP Chairperson, said this in a press conference organized at the office of the party’s election management committee in Gulshan of the capital on Thursday night.
In the press conference, Mahdi Amin said that BNP Chairman Tariq Rahman has already won privately in his two constituencies—Bogra-6 and Dhaka-17. He said, “With the sincere love and support of the people, we have seen that the candidates of the BNP are leading by a large margin in a large number of seats. Many have already been elected privately.”
Alleging irregularities in the election, he said that since Wednesday night, “political opponents were involved in various crimes including rigging, fraud and booth occupation”. Mahdi Amin said that there is a deliberate delay in counting votes and announcing results in several constituencies including Dhaka-8, Dhaka-11, Dhaka-13 and Dhaka-16
Meanwhile, the new political party Jatiya Nagrik Party (NCP) claimed that six of its candidates have won. In a message on its verified Facebook page, the NCP said its winning candidates are: Nahid Islam: Convener of the party (Dhaka-11 constituency). Akhtar Hossain: Party Member Secretary (Rangpur-4 Constituency). Hasnat Abdullah: Chief Organizer of Southern Region (Comilla-4 Constituency). Abdul Hannan Masood: Joint Chief Coordinator (Noakhali-6 Constituency). Jatiya Nagrik Party (NCP) Joint Member Secretary Abdullah Al Amin (Narayanganj-4 Constituency) and Dr. Atiq Mujahid (Kurigram-2).
The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh has thanked the countrymen for their full cooperation in conducting the 13th National Assembly elections and referendums in a free, fair, impartial and festive atmosphere. At the same time, the organization also requested special prayers on Friday for the peace, prosperity and progress of the country.
Well-known television face Rumeen Farhana, who left BNP to fight the polls independently is leading in the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency. As of 10 pm, results from 45 out of 151 polling centres have been announced. Rumeen, contesting with the “duck” symbol, secured 34,460 votes. Her nearest rival, BNP alliance candidate Maulana Junayed Al Habib — vice-president of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh’s central committee — received 23,226 votes, Returning Officer Sharmin Akhtar Jahan announced.
While, Shishir Manir, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate in the Sunamganj-2 constituency has admitted defeat, stating in a facebook post, “Congratulations to Mr. Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, the BNP candidate, for winning in my constituency.”
After a sluggish morning, voters poured into polling stations across the capital of Dhaka and beyond, turning the tide in a high-stakes day at the ballot box. Voter turnout reached nearly 48 per cent by 2 pm, officials said.
Counting which kicked off after polling ended, saw election workers painstakingly sorted through stacks of black-and-white paper ballots at centres spread throughout the country, inspecting each one by hand to ensure it was valid before adding it to the tally.
Nearly one million police and soldiers were deployed nationwide to maintain law and order.
After voting concluded, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, said the “spontaneous participation of voters, the responsible conduct of political parties, the restraint shown by candidates, and the professionalism of all institutions collectively demonstrated our commitment to democracy.”
This is the first time since independence, that the party which led the country to freedom – Awami League was absent from the polls after being banned by the Yunu-led regime. Nearly a lakh of its leaders and supporters are in jail, while thousands are living as refugees outside Bangladesh.
Final results are expected later by Friday. . XC/. JRC .
