Thakurgaon-1 by-election ends peacefully

Voting in the by-election to Thakurgaon-1 constituency ended peacefully on Thursday, with a voter turnout of 48% recorded until 2pm, Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said.

Polling began at 8am and continued until 4pm. No voters were waiting at any polling centre when voting ended, he said.

Briefing journalists after the close of polling, Akhtar said the final turnout would be announced after the counting of votes. He added that vote counting had begun.

“We have not received any reports of untoward incidents from anywhere since the morning,” he said, expressing satisfaction with the peaceful conduct of the election.

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Responding to allegations of vote-rigging and irregularities, the EC secretary said he had received no reports of incidents that could raise concerns about the election.

Regarding complaints that photographs of some voters were missing from records at certain polling centres, Akhtar said the matter had been referred to the presiding and returning officers for verification.

The officials subsequently verified the individuals’ identities against the database and satisfied the candidates’ agents, he said, adding that the issue had been resolved immediately.

Asked about three young people who were reportedly present at a polling centre, the EC secretary said they were not registered voters eligible to cast ballots. They had registered at the age of 16 and received registration cards, but could not vote because they were not eligible voters.

He said the matter had been resolved locally and had no connection with the voting process.

Asked whether the election would serve as a major test for upcoming local government elections, Akhtar said he believed the Election Commission had passed the test, adding that journalists would assess its performance.

He also said the commission would announce the final turnout after vote counting was completed rather than speculate about the figure.