Five vie for Thakurgaon-1 by-poll Oct 29

The Election Commission (EC) has directed people who are not residents or voters of the Thakurgaon-1 constituency to stay away from the area from 8:00am on 27 October to 4:00pm on 30  as the by-election is scheduled for 29 October.

The EC sent a letter to the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police in Thakurgaon on Sunday. 

According to the letter, the decision was taken to ensure that the by-election to the vacant Thakurgaon-1 seat in the 13th National Parliament is held in a free, fair and peaceful manner.

The restriction will apply to people other than local residents or voters, those involved in election activities, and people authorised by the EC.

The letter states that the restriction will start 48 hours before polling begins and continue until 24 hours after polling ends.

Five candidates from different political parties are contesting the Thakurgaon-1 by-election. They are Mirza Faisal Amin of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Md Delawar Hossain of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Md Abdul Alim Nizami of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Hafiz Dr Md Khademul Islam of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, and Husain Muhammad Omar Faruk of Bangladesh Congress.

The seat fell vacant after BNP lawmaker Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir resigned from it following his election as president. The Parliament Secretariat later declared the seat vacant. The Election Commission then announced the schedule for the by-election.