Voting in the by-polls to the six parliamentary seats — left vacant after BNP MPs resigned —concluded amid some stray incidents on Wednesday afternoon.
The voting began at 8:30 am and continued till 4:30 pm, said SM Asaduzzaman, Joint Secretary of the Election Commission.
The six constituencies are: Thakurgaon-3, Bogura-4 and 6, Chapainawabganj-2, 3 and Brahmanbaria-2.
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used in the by-elections. However, no CCTV cameras were installed in the polling centers, he added.
Forty aspirants are vying in the 6 constituencies for MP post.
In Chapainawabganj, a chase and counter-chase occurred between supporters of two candidates at the District Ideal High School Centre around 9 am.
A scuffle took place between the supporters of independent candidate Samiul Haque Liton and Awami League-backed candidate Abdul Wadud at the polling station -- triggering a chase and counter-chase, said Additional Superintendent of Chapainawabganj Police, Abul Kalam Shaheed.
However, police brought the situation under control. A crude bomb was recovered from the spot.
UNB Chapainawabganj correspondent reports: Voting in the by-election ended peacefully amid low voter turnout.
By-polls to 6 JS seats underway amid stray incidents
Abu Asif Ahmed, an expelled leader of BNP and an independent candidate who went missing on Friday, could not be traced till Wednesday afternoon.
Some 1,100 police have been deployed at the polling stations while four platoons of BGB members, nine teams of RAB, nine mobile teams of police, and four striking teams were also performing their duties to maintain the law and order situation.
Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday announced a public holiday on Wednesday in the election areas on the occasion of the by-elections.
Earlier on December 10, 2022 at a public rally, parliamentarians of BNP announced their resignation from the JS. The next day, on December 11, Chapainawabganj-2 lawmaker Md Aminul Islam, Bogura-4 lawmaker Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Bogura-6 lawmaker Golam Mohammad Siraj, and Thakurgaon-3 lawmaker Zahidur Rahman resigned.
Two other BNP lawmakers — Advocate Abdus Sattar of Brahmanbaria-2 constituency and Harun-or-Rashid of Chapainawabganj-3 — resigned later.
Source: United News of Bangladesh