Voting began in a peaceful and festive atmosphere Thursday morning across three parliamentary constituencies in Thakurgaon district for the 13th parliamentary election.
Polling started at 7:30am, with voters seen lining up at various centres across the district. Authorities reported widespread enthusiasm surrounding the election.
The district has three municipalities and 54 unions. Voting is taking place at 417 polling centers across 2,334 booths: 2,116 permanent and 218 temporary booths.
A total of 1,201,473 voters are registered in the district which includes 606,907 men, 594,559 women and seven third-gender voters.
Compared to the previous election, the voter roll has increased by 58,550. A total of 20 candidates are contesting across the three constituencies.
Thakurgaon-1 comprises 22 unions and one municipality, with 185 polling centers and 504,838 registered voters. Candidates include BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Md Delawar Hossain and Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Dr Hafez Md Khademul Islam.
Thakurgaon-2 includes 16 unions, with voting taking place at 104 centers for 336,177 registered voters. Seven candidates are contesting in the constituency.
In Thakurgaon-3, which covers 16 unions and two municipalities, voting is underway at 128 centers with 360,458 registered voters. Ten candidates are contesting the seat, including one female independent candidate.
Nine judicial magistrates and 22 executive magistrates are overseeing the election. Security includes 1,250 police officers, army units, Border Guard Bangladesh personnel, Rapid Action Battalion members and more than 6,000 Ansar members. All polling centers are equipped with CCTV and body-worn cameras.
District Commissioner and Returning Officer Israt Farzana said authorities are committed to conducting a free, fair and neutral election. “Law enforcement agencies remain fully prepared. We hope voting will conclude peacefully with broad public participation.”
