Voting Underway in Bangladesh: People Celebrate the Vote After 17 Years

 The voting in Bangladesh has started very peacefully, and so far there have been no major incidents. People are celebrating the election of this time. For the first time in 17 years, the streets of Dhaka are empty like during Eid. Most people have gone to their village homes to cast their votes.

After the student-led mass uprising and the fall of the Awami League government one and a half years ago, people are voting today to establish an elected government. At the same time, through the referendum, they are also expressing their opinions by voting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on some proposed fundamental changes to the constitution of Bangladesh.

The Election Commission (EC) has prepared to make this election peaceful and festive, aiming to erase the shame of denied voting in the last three parliamentary elections and to start a new democratic journey. Voting for the referendum and parliamentary election began at 7:30 a.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m.

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin said that, with everyone’s combined effort, a free, fair, peaceful, and festive election is expected. To ensure security, more than 900,000 law enforcement personnel have been deployed nationwide, and 1,051 executive magistrates are present in the field to run mobile courts.

Out of 300 parliamentary seats, voting is being held today in 299 seats. The election in Sherpur-3 has been postponed due to the death of a candidate. Fifty political parties are participating in this election, excluding the currently banned Awami League. Participating parties include BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizens Party (NCP), Islami Andolan Bangladesh, National Party, and others. After many years, millions of young people, adults, and elderly have gone to villages to vote freely. Dhaka city has become empty like Eid.

Observers say that under the Awami League government, elections in 2014 (one-sided), 2018 (night voting), and 2024 (‘Ami-Dami election’) raised questions about the country’s election system. A large number of voters had complained that they could not exercise their voting rights. If this election remains peaceful, it will mark the first step in the progress of democracy. If the referendum results in ‘Yes’ winning, it will also begin the implementation of fundamental constitutional reforms.

On December 11, Bangladesh entered the election period with the announcement of the schedule for the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum. Among the 127,695,185 registered voters, nearly 40 million young voters are getting the chance to vote for the first time.

For the first time, overseas Bangladeshis have cast their votes through postal ballots. In addition, election officials and prisoners are also able to vote under this system.

Due to the death of Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Mohammad Nuruzzaman Badal in Sherpur-3, this election is being held in 299 seats, with a total of 2,028 candidates, including party and independent candidates, contesting. Thousands of drones are being deployed by the Election Commission to monitor the election across the country.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahman Al-Mujtama said that voting will take place in a very fair and acceptable environment. Minor incidents may occur, but he is hopeful that there will be no major incidents. He believes that voter turnout will exceed 60 percent. According to current observations, except for Gopalganj, the stronghold of the Awami League, there have been no major incidents anywhere else.

This report is written at 1:00 PM local time in Bangladesh.

“Yes” Will Bring Change

If the “Yes” option wins in the referendum, several proposed constitutional reforms will be implemented. These reforms aim to reduce the Prime Minister’s absolute powers to some extent while increasing the President’s authority in certain areas. Appointments to constitutional positions will be made through committees consisting of representatives from the ruling party, the opposition, and in some cases, the judiciary. Members of Parliament will have greater independence when voting on certain matters. Overall, the reforms are expected to create a better balance of power among different organs of the state. However, the BNP had different opinions on some of the reform proposals.

If “Yes” wins, the upcoming Parliament will not only function regularly but also act as a constitutional reform council to ensure the implementation of these changes.

2,028 Candidates, Only 83 Women

A total of 2,028 candidates are contesting in the election. Among them, 1,755 belong to 50 political parties, and 273 are independent candidates. There are 83 women candidates, including 63 from various parties, and 20 women among the independents.

Voter and Polling Details

• Voting will be possible at 42,779 centers for 127,711,793 voters: 64,825,361 men, 62,885,200 women, and 1,232 third-gender voters.
• 21,506 centers have been declared sensitive, and extra security is being provided. CCTV cameras are installed at polling stations.
• The Election Commission has appointed 69 returning officers, 598 assistant returning officers, 42,779 presiding officers, 247,482 assistant presiding officers, and 494,964 polling officers.

Postal Voting

By 9 PM Wednesday, 1,069,838 voters had cast their votes via postal ballot. A total of 1,533,684 voters had registered for postal voting, including 772,546 overseas voters and 761,138 within Bangladesh.

Counting and Result Publication

Because of the referendum, voting will end at 4:30 PM, one hour later than usual. Voting inside the center can continue after this time. Counting will begin immediately afterward. Candidates, polling agents, observers, and media personnel can be present during counting.

After counting, the detailed results will be displayed on the notice boards or walls of the polling centers. Presiding officers will then hand over the result sheets to assistant returning officers, and a copy will also be sent to the Election Commission by post.

Concerns About Delays

Since both parliamentary and referendum ballots need to be counted, the process will take longer. Political parties have expressed concern that delays could lead to election violence or spread rumors.

For reference, in 1977, the first referendum results took 30 hours to announce, with 38.4 million voters. This year, with over 127 million voters, the Election Commission has not specified how long it will take.

However, Senior Secretary of the EC, Akhtar Ahmed, said on Tuesday that results will not be unnecessarily delayed. Results will be released in stages, and the final outcome is expected by February 13.

540 Foreign Observers and Journalists Arrive

A total of 540 foreign citizens have arrived in Bangladesh to observe the election and cover the news. Among them, 60 came at the invitation of the Election Commission (EC). Another 330 came from various international organizations and election monitoring agencies, and 150 journalists represent 45 international media organizations.

Outsiders Banned from Voting Areas for 4 Days

The Election Commission (EC) has banned any person from staying outside their own area for 81 hours, or roughly 4 days, during the election. EC has sent instructions to all district commissioners, police superintendents, and police commissioners. From 7:00 AM on February 10 until 4:30 PM on February 13, no person may enter the election areas except for election officials, EC-approved personnel, and residents or voters of the respective election area. Other individuals cannot be present from 48 hours before the voting starts until 24 hours after voting ends.

Reports Required Every 2 Hours

For the election and referendum, the EC has ordered that updates on voter turnout and law-and-order conditions be sent every 2 hours. According to the EC’s circular, this process will continue from 7:30 AM Thursday until unofficial results are available. Returning officers must send reports on the election environment, law and order, voter turnout every 2 hours during voting, and after voting ends, presiding officers must submit detailed vote counts to the EC Secretariat.