Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) clinched victories in two parliamentary by-elections on Thursday, with Rezaul Karim Badsha winning Bogura-6 and Mahmudul Haque Rubel taking Sherpur-3.
Both elections saw largely peaceful voting, though opposition candidates raised allegations of rigging and intimidation.
In the Bogura-6 by-election, BNP candidate Rezaul Karim Badsha was declared the winner by Returning Officer Fazlur Karim on Thursday night.
Voting reportedly took place in a calm and peaceful environment. Badsha secured a total of 1,33,215 votes across 150 polling centres, while his nearest rival, Abidur Rahman Sohel of Jamaat-e-Islami, received 56,904 votes.
Earlier, Sohel alleged that ruling party activists were involved in widespread rigging during the voting process, around 4 PM. The seat was previously held by Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, who won it in the February 12 general elections but later vacated it to retain Dhaka-17 constituency, where he narrowly defeated a Jamaat candidate.
Meanwhile, in the Sherpur-3 by-election, BNP’s Mahmudul Haque Rubel emerged victorious, according to Returning Officer Md Jahangir Hossain.
Voting reportedly proceeded in a stable atmosphere, though some instances of fraudulent voting were noted and addressed promptly by authorities.
Rubel received 1,66,007 votes across 128 polling centres, defeating Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Masudur Rahman, who garnered 47,051 votes.
The Sherpur-3 election saw a 50.52% voter turnout. Around 3:15 PM, Masudur Rahman announced his withdrawal from the race, alleging intimidation of his agents and violent attacks by ruling party activists, along with fraudulent vote casting, which he claimed were inadequately addressed by law enforcement.
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