The counting of votes is expected to begin soon after polling ends, with official results likely to be announced once the process is completed, according to the Bangladesh Election Commission.
Massive security deployment across the countryThe Election Commission has rolled out a massive security operation in Bangladesh’s electoral history, deploying close to one million security personnel nationwide.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Machud said nearly 900,000 law enforcement officers have been assigned to maintain order during the polls, as per news agency PTI.
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Authorities have stationed Armoured Personnel Carriers and Rapid Action Teams in key areas of Dhaka, while police flagged 1,614 of the capital’s 2,131 polling centres as risk-prone. The army, however, identified only two centres in Dhaka city as “risky”.
For the first time, drones and body-worn cameras are being used to monitor election security.
Political contest between BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami
The election is primarily a contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, which was disbanded and barred from contesting by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ interim government last year.
A total of 2,808 candidates from 50 political parties are in the fray. Corruption, inflation and employment remained the major issued in the election campaigns.
Bangladesh has nearly 127 million eligible voters. First-time voters account for between 3.58% and 4.57 million of the electorate, as per PTI and Al Jazeera.
Referendum and calls for peaceful voting
The parliamentary polls are being held alongside a referendum on a wide-ranging reform agenda, described as an 84-point package or the National Charter 2025, drafted by the Yunus-led interim government.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin urged citizens to participate peacefully. He called on voters to cast their ballots freely and appealed to political actors to preserve a calm atmosphere.
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Yunus also urged parties and candidates to show restraint and democratic conduct on polling day, as per PTI.
Ahead of voting, Bangladesh Home Adviser Lieutenant General Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd) warned that “strict” action would be taken against any election-related misconduct, as per news agency ANI.
