“No” vote dominated the referendum in Gopalganj and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured victories in all three parliamentary constituencies of the district, traditionally considered an Awami League stronghold.
Unofficial results, announced late Thursday night by the district returning officer and Deputy Commissioner, Md. Arif-uz-Zaman, showed a wide margin in favor of “No” option.
In Gopalganj-1, “Yes” vote received 54,716 ballots, while “No” vote surged to 128,298, giving “No” a lead of 73,542 votes.
In Gopalganj-2, 107,290 ballots went to the “No” option, defeating the “Yes” votes by 72,949.
Gopalganj-3 recorded 93,368 “No” votes against 33,498 “Yes” votes, a margin of 59,870.
Voter turnout in the morning reflected reluctance among voters, as Awami League had suspended its political activities and did not participate in the elections and referendum.
However, participation increased later in the day. By the end of polling, a total of 43.29% of registered voters across the three constituencies had cast their ballots, with Gopalganj-1 at 49.35%, Gopalganj-2 at 39.45% and Gopalganj-3 at 41.07%, signalling modest engagement despite “No” vote sweep.
SH
