Voter turnout was low at the polling stations in Sylhet, despite tight security measures.
At most times, polling stations remained empty during the 13th national election, with more female voters than male voters.
At the Police Lines High School polling centre in the heart of Sylhet city, a total of 1,073 voters were registered, but only 197 votes were cast between 7:30am and 4:30pm.
Of those, BNP candidate Khondkar Abdul Muktadir received 107 votes, while his closest rival, Maulana Habibur Rahman of Jamaat-e-Islami, received 87 votes.
Only 18% of eligible voters cast their ballots in this constituency. Not only at Police Lines, but several other polling stations in Sylhet saw a turnout of between 18 per cent and 25 per cent.
Although reports received at 7pm on Thursday evening indicated that BNP candidates were leading in various constituencies in Sylhet, the low voter turnout has left many of the party’s candidates in a precarious position.
The low voter turnout across the Sylhet division has had an impact on the average voter participation rate. By 7pm on Thursday, the Election Commission (EC) reported that voter turnout in Sylhet division was only 46 per cent, the lowest of any division in the country.
Earlier on Thursday, polling in Sylhet division had been completed peacefully, with only a few isolated incidents. Voting began at 7:30am for the first time, and there were no reports of major violence, thanks to the strict stance of law enforcement agencies and centre-based monitoring. However, the low voter turnout was the main topic of discussion by the end of the day.
Polling for 2,937 centres in Sylhet division’s 19 parliamentary constituencies began at 7:30am. While long queues were seen in some places before voting started, most centres experienced limited voter presence until midday. Officials confirmed that female voter turnout was relatively higher.
Polling centres such as the Aided High School, Ambarkhana Girls’ High School, Ananda Niketan, Ambarkhana Government Primary School, Alia Madrasa Centre-2, and Shahjalal Jamia Islamia Centre saw lower voter attendance throughout the day.
In contrast, the Sarada Hall Centre had long queues in the morning, but the number of voters decreased as the day went on.
However, voter turnout was comparatively higher in centres dominated by tea workers and minorities.
Around 8am, Maulana Habibur Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami’s candidate for Sylhet-1, cast his vote at the Shibganj Scholars’ Home Centre. Around 9am, Khondkar Abdul Muktadir, BNP candidate for the same constituency, voted at the Sharada Smriti Bhaban Centre.
Both candidates expressed satisfaction with the election environment after voting.
Although the environment remained peaceful, a few isolated incidents occurred.
In two centres in Companyganj upazila of Sylhet, two people were detained for casting fake votes. They were later released because they were minors, according to Shafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of the local police station.
In another incident, seven minors were detained for attempting to cast fake votes at a centre in Banayachang upazila of Habiganj.
Mahmudha Begum Sathi, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), said that all seven were minors and appropriate action would be taken after the polls.
Additionally, in Nabiganj, an expatriate named Golam Rasul was sentenced to five days of imprisonment by a mobile court for tearing a ballot paper at a polling station.
In Sylhet division, the total number of voters was 84,45,712, with 43,12,157 male voters, 41,33,475 female voters, and 80 third-gender voters.
