BNP candidate Mirza Faisal Amin and Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Delwar Hossain cast their votes in the Thakurgaon-1 by-election on Thursday morning.
Faisal Amin, brother of President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, cast his vote at the Thakurgaon Government Girls’ High School polling centre around 8am. He also exchanged greetings with voters present at the centre.
Speaking to journalists after casting his vote, Faisal Amin expressed confidence in a victory for his party, UNB reports.
“We will achieve an absolute victory, inshallah,” he said.
Faisal Amin said he would visit different polling centres to observe the situation. He also expressed hope that the election would be held in a festive atmosphere.
“I don’t see any concerns. All voters are my voters, and everyone will cast their votes peacefully,” he said.
He added that the administration would take necessary measures if it considers any polling centre vulnerable.
Regarding voter turnout, Faisal Amin also expressed hope that more voters would turn up as the day progressed.
Jamaat candidate Delwar cast his vote at Hajipara Adarsha High School polling centre in Thakurgaon municipality around 8:30am. Like Faisal Amin, he exchanged greetings with voters before and after casting his vote.
After voting, Delwar urged people to visit polling centres and exercise their voting rights. He raised questions about the identity of the presiding officer at the polling centre where he voted, alleging that the officer’s identification card did not contain a photograph.
“How can we be sure that he is the actual person or someone else?” he asked.
Delwar expressed concern about the possibility of proxy voting and requested the returning officer to look into the matter.
He also said the fairness of the election, being held under a party-led government, would depend on the government, election officials and the administration.
Thakurgaon District Election Officer and Returning Officer Md Kamrul Islam said all necessary preparations had been completed to ensure a free, fair and neutral election.
He said adequate law enforcement personnel had been deployed at every polling centre, while striking and reserve forces had also been kept ready.
According to the election office, the Thakurgaon-1 constituency covers Thakurgaon Sadar, Ruhia and Bhulli and has a total of 185 polling centres.
Of these, 113 are in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, 33 in the newly formed Ruhia upazila and 39 in Bhulli upazila.
The constituency has 515,853 registered voters, including 257,219 men, 258,630 women and four third-gender voters.
A total of 287 voters have registered to cast their ballots by post. Of them, 249 are men and 38 are women.
