Bangladesh: Counting begins to determine election results

An electoral official opens a ballot box as counting starts at a polling station in Dhaka, on Thursday. Pic/AFP

The counting of votes was underway on Thursday after Bangladeshis cast ballots in the crucial 13th general elections to elect a new government to replace the interim administration which took charge after the Awami League collapse in 2024. The counting began after voting concluded at 4.30 pm.

However, in places where voters were in line inside the polling station, voting was to continue. Meanwhile, a crude bomb blast at Makhati Gurucharan High School poll station in Munshiganj caused a brief disruption. There were no casualties.

Discrepancies

As polling continued, Jamaat-e-Islami's Khaleduz Zaman alleged discrepancies. "Someone is sealing the papers without a polling agent present. I have seen this in some places. We were hopeful to win the election, but if this happens, how can we have hopes..." he said.

No ‘boat' symbol

For the first time in 30 years, the election symbol of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League - a boat - didn't appear in Bangladesh's general election. The Election Commission had suspended the party's registration last year.

Hindu tea worker killed

A bloodied body of a Hindu tea garden worker, Ratan Shuvo Kar, 28, was found with his hands and legs tied with ropes in the Moulvibazar area in northeast Bangladesh, reports said on Thursday. This is the second murder of a Hindu person in as many days. Kar worked at a tea garden 200 km northeast of Dhaka.

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