NEW DELHI, Feb 12 (KUNA) -- Bangladesh held on Thursday the first Parliament Elections peacefully after the toppling of former government under Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
According to Bangladesh news Prothom Alo, the 13th national Parliament Election and a Referendum on July National Charter 2025 concluded nationwide and counting of the ballots started.
Apart from a few isolated incidents, polling took place in a festive atmosphere. Some complaints regarding the conduct of the polls, grenade explosions in two districts and death of four individuals due to health issues were reported.
The polling began at 7:30 am across 299 parliamentary constituencies and ended at 4:30 pm local time with around 50 percent of 127.298,522 eligible voters casting their votes.
Head of the Bangladesh National Party Tarique Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahma heading a coalition of 11 parties are main contenders amid polls indicating a massive victory for Rahman, who is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
The Awami League of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after her government was toppled in a massive student-led protest, is banned from contesting in the polls.
Bangladesh also held a referendum on the July National Charter 2025, which will lay the foundation for future governance of the country. The results are expected to be announced on Friday.
Chief Adviser to the interim government and Nobel peace winner Muhammad Yunus thanked the people for holding the peaceful polls, saying "a new Bangladesh has begun.
"The spontaneous participation of voters, the responsible behaviour of political parties, the restraint of candidates, and the professionalism of all election-related institutions; these combined efforts have proven that our commitment to democracy is unwavering. The people have played an active role in determining the future of the country by exercising their constitutional rights," Yunus said in a statement. He also urged political parties and candidates to maintain democratic decency, tolerance and mutual respect even after the final results are announced. (end) atk.hb