Conflicting figures have emerged over voter turnout in the Thakurgaon-1 by-election, with the Election Commission (EC) reporting 48 per cent turnout by 2pm on Thursday, while the assistant returning officer put the figure at 52 per cent.
Voting ended at 4pm after polling continued for eight hours from 8am.
Voter turnout at polling centres appeared relatively low, according to local observations.
Assistant Returning Officer Aftab Uzzaman said 52 per cent of voters had cast their ballots by 2pm.
However, EC Senior Secretary Akhter Ahmed told reporters after voting ended that turnout by the same time stood at 48 per cent.
The four-percentage-point discrepancy between the two officials’ figures has raised questions about the accuracy of the turnout estimates.
With polling over, attention has shifted to the final results and the official turnout figure. The actual turnout is expected to become clear once the authorities release the final figures and clarify the discrepancy.
BNP candidate leads with 15,116 votes in 12 centres
The BNP candidate has received 15,116 votes, while the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate has secured 5,354 votes in preliminary results from 12 of the 185 polling centres in the Thakurgaon-1 by-election.
Votes from the remaining 173 centres are yet to be reported, and the results remain preliminary.
