Dhaka, February 12: vote counting continues in Bangladesh following Thursday’s elections. Meanwhile, a BNP-backed candidate has announced a boycott of the election, according to local media reports.
As reported by The Daily Star, A. Jasim Uddin, the BNP-supported candidate from the Comilla-4 (Debidwar) constituency and a member of the Gana Adhikar Parishad, declared the boycott after the voting concluded. He made this announcement via a Facebook Live session.
In a live stream lasting approximately 2 minutes and 11 seconds, Uddin alleged significant irregularities in the Baroishalghar, Rasulpur, Yusufpur, Subil, Mashikara, and Fatehpur unions. He claimed that ballot boxes were seized, his agents were expelled from polling centers, and there were attacks on leaders and workers, with accusations of vote-buying throughout the day.
Uddin criticized the administration for not supporting him, stating that despite repeated calls, no officials visited any polling center.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, preliminary official results indicate that Hasnat Abdullah, the southern region’s chief organizer of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and a candidate from the 11-party alliance, is leading in four polling centers of the Comilla-4 (Debidwar) constituency.
As of 2 PM, voter turnout across the country’s 36,000 polling centers was reported at 47.91%. Counting of votes is ongoing, and initial trends are beginning to emerge. Interim government chief advisor Mohammad Yunus stated that a new Bangladesh was born today after casting his vote.
On the other hand, ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called the election fraudulent and demanded its cancellation, as well as Yunus’s resignation.
