Thakurgaon:Voting in the by-election to the Thakurgaon-1 parliamentary constituency ended peacefully at 400 pm today, with vote counting underway at polling centres.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, voting began at 800 am at 185 polling centres across the constituency and continued without interruption until the scheduled closing time.
The constituency comprises Thakurgaon Sadar, Ruhia, and Bhulli, with a total of 516,140 registered voters. Five candidates contested the by-election Mirza Faisal Amin of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Delawar Hossain of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Md. Abdul Alim Nizami of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Md. Khademul Islam of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, and Husain Muhammad Omar Faruk of Bangladesh Congress.
Despite chilly weather and unfavourable conditions, voters went to polling centres throughout the day to exercise their franchise. Women voters outnumbered men at most centres, while participation by voters from the Hindu community was also noticeable.
According to district election office, around 62 percent of registered voters cast their ballots. Turnout was relatively low in the morning but increased as the day progressed. Several voters expressed satisfaction with being able to vote for their preferred candidates without disruption.
Extensive security measures were taken to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful election. The deployment included 21 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), 251 members of the Special Response Battalion (SRB), 2,272 police personnel, and 2,465 Ansar members. Judicial and executive magistrates were also deployed to oversee the election.
Returning Officer Md. Kamrul Islam expressed satisfaction with the overall conduct of the polling, saying voting had concluded peacefully without any incidents of violence.
Vote counting is now underway, with candidates and their supporters awaiting the final results.