Thakurgaon:The Election Commission has registered 284 postal voters for the upcoming byelection in the Thakurgaon-1 constituency, scheduled for October 29. Among these voters, 29 are expatriate Bangladeshis. The byelection was necessitated by the election of former lawmaker Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as President of the country.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the postal voters comprise 255 government officials and employees working in various regions of the country and individuals involved in election duties. The deadline for appealing against the returning officer's decision regarding the bypolls is about to expire, with no challenges reported so far, as all six candidates have been deemed eligible to contest.
The election schedule outlines that any appeals must be resolved by October 6. Candidates have until October 7 to withdraw, and electoral symbols will be allocated by the Election Commission on October 8. Voting on October 29 will occur between 8 am and 4 pm without interruption.
The District Election Officer and Returning Officer Md Kamrul Islam released the list of valid candidates on September 29. The candidates include BNP-nominees Obaidullah Masud and Mirza Foysal Amin, Jamaat-e-Islami's Delwar Hossain, Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan's Md Abdul Alim Nizami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh's Md Khademul Islam, and Bangladesh Congress candidate Hossain Muhammad Omar Faruk.
Previously, 5,07,203 voters were registered in Thakurgaon-1 during the 13th parliamentary election on February 12. With the addition of new voters, the total now stands at 5,15,525. The constituency was represented by Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who won the seat in the February 12 general election.