The average voter turnout at the eight centres in Dhaka-12 stands at 34.89 percent. The figure ranged from just under 30 percent to a little over 42 percent, reflecting varied levels of participation through Thursday afternoon.
According to Presiding Officer Ahsan Habib, 36.48 percent of the 1,469 registered voters had cast their ballots at Government Science Center-2 (Centre 56) as of 2:30pm.
At Government Science Center-1 (Centre 55), Presiding Officer Bishwajit Kundu said turnout stood at 29 percent of 2,801 voters as of 2:50pm.
Government Science High School Centre (Centre 58) Presiding Officer Shafiqul Hasan said a turnout of 42.24 percent had been recorded as of 3pm.
Meanwhile, Tejgaon Mohila College (Centre 59) Presiding Officer Md Shahidur Rahman reported a turnout of 30.62 percent at 3pm.
Another centre (Centre 60) update from Tejgaon Mohila College showed that 919 votes had been cast out of 2,709 total voters from the fourth floor. Presiding Officer Tajul Islam confirmed the turnout at 29.47 percent till 4:02pm.
Mijanur Rahman, Presiding Officer of Tejgaon Government Girls High School (Centre 51), said turnout stood at 35.83 percent as of 3pm.
A separate centre (Centre 53) update from the same polling station showed 36 percent turnout as of 4:20pm.
Another count from the centre (Centre 54) by Presiding Officer Md Abdul Wares reported 39.48 percent turnout till 4pm.
Even though turnout was less than expected according to some party supporters, voters who came to cast their ballots seemed to enjoy the atmosphere.
Fifteen candidates are vying for the Dhaka-12 constituency in the national election. The number of registered voters is 333,020.
The main contest is centered around Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Saiful Alam Khan Milon with the “scale” symbol, independent candidate Saiful Alam Nirab with the “football” symbol, and BNP alliance candidate Saiful Haque with the “spade” symbol. With three candidates named Saiful in the race, there is concern that BNP’s votes may split between the spade and football symbols, which could benefit Jamaat aspirant Saiful.
Competition is also intense in Dhaka-12. Taslima Akhter with the “Mathal” symbol and Tarek Rahman with the “butterfly” symbol are drawing attention. Besides them, 10 other candidates from different parties are also in the field.
