Thakurgaon-1 by-election polls underway, continue until 4pm

Voting in the Thakurgaon-1 parliamentary constituency by-election commenced at 8:00am on Thursday across 185 polling centres and will continue until 4:00pm.

Although candidates from five political parties are contesting the election, the main contest is expected to be between the BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

Even on the eve of the election, BNP and Jamaat leaders and activists were seen taking positions and keeping watch at different road intersections across the constituency.

Law enforcement agencies have tightened security across the constituency, comprising Sadar, Ruhia and Bhulli upazilas, while the Election Commission (EC) has completed all preparations for the polls.

Apart from BNP candidate Mirza Faisal Amin and Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Md Delwar Hossain, the other contestants are Islami Andolan Bangladesh candidate Hafez Maulana Md Khademul Islam, contesting with the Hand Fan symbol; Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan candidate Md Abdul Alim Nizami with the Banyan Tree symbol; and Bangladesh Congress candidate Hussain Muhammad Omar Faruk with the Green Coconut symbol.

However, candidates representing the BNP's Sheaf of Paddy and Jamaat's Scales symbols have been the most visible during the election campaign.

According to the Thakurgaon Election Office, the constituency comprises 22 unions and one municipality and has a total of 516,138 registered voters.

During the 13th parliamentary election, 289 voters in the constituency registered for postal voting. Government employees serving outside the constituency will also be able to cast their votes through postal ballots.

Of the 185 polling centres, 115 have been identified as vulnerable, or "highly important", prompting the EC to deploy additional law enforcement personnel there. The remaining 70 centres have been categorised as moderately important.

To ensure a free, fair and peaceful election, the EC has deployed three times as many law enforcement personnel as were deployed during the 12 February general election.

Each polling centre will have six to seven police personnel along with members of Ansar. Twenty-one platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have also been deployed and will operate as mobile and striking forces.

The election will be monitored using drones, while body-worn cameras and K-9 dog units will also be used. Members of the SRB will also be deployed on election duty.

Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said on Wednesday that polling would be monitored minute by minute from the Election Building.

"We will monitor the voting minute by minute from the Election Building. Alongside observing the situation on election day, we will verify reports and information published by various media outlets and news portals. Necessary measures will be taken after reviewing the information," he said.

Returning Officer Md Kamrul Islam said all preparations had been completed to ensure a fair election.

"We are committed to delivering a fair election, and preparations have been completed accordingly. We hope voting will be completed in a peaceful and orderly environment as planned," he said.