BNP's Faisal wins by-polls

Local reports indicated low voter turnout in the morning, with attendance increasing later in the day. The district election office reported turnout of 52 per cent by 3pm.

Voting in the by-election ended at 4pm, and counting began shortly afterwards. The Election Commission said polling was peaceful, although Jamaat raised allegations of irregularities.

Voting began at 8am at all 185 polling centres across Thakurgaon Sadar, Ruhia and Bhulli. Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the commission was satisfied with the voting process.

Security was tightened across the constituency, with police, the Border Guard Bangladesh, the Special Response Battalion, and members of the Ansar and Village Defence Party deployed at polling centres.

However, the two main candidates raised concerns during the voting. After casting his ballot at Thakurgaon Government Girls’ High School, BNP candidate Faisal Amin alleged that agents assigned to the candidate using the coconut symbol had joined Jamaat’s team and entered polling centres alongside its representatives.

Jamaat candidate Delwar Hossain, who voted at Hajipara Adarsha High School, questioned the absence of photographs on the identity cards of presiding and assistant presiding officers, saying it made their identities difficult to verify.

Five candidates contested the by-election. The other three were Khademul Islam of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Abdul Alim Nizami of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan and Husain Muhammad Omar Faruk of Bangladesh Congress.

The constituency has 516,138 registered voters. The seat fell vacant after BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who won it in the February 12 parliamentary election, was elected President and he resigned as MP.