Polls end amid low voter turnout, counting begins
Although there were sporadic incidents of violence, the elections were largely peaceful.
Voting for the 12th Jatiya Sangsad elections came to an end amid a comparatively low voter turnout.
The estimated final turnout was said to be 40%, according to the Election Commission.
The voter turnout stood at 27.15% as of 3pm, before voting concluded at 4:00pm.
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Despite a boycott by major opposition parties, the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islam, alongside some others, the government declared that the election was a success.
The 40% voter turnout estimate, if it eventually lands below 40.04%, would make it the second lowest in the country's electoral history after the controversial February 1996 elections, which saw a turnout of only 26.74%.
The day saw largely deserted streets in the capital, reinforced by the hartal called by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islam.
Although there were sporadic incidents of violence, the elections were largely peaceful.
There were, however, allegations of polling booth capturing and vote-rigging, which led to the suspension of voting in three centres.
Several independent and party-affiliated candidates also withdrew from the race on the day citing a lack of a fair polls environment.
GM Quader, chairman of Jatiyo Party – another major political player – even declared that they were brought to the election as sacrificial lambs.
Out of 44 political parties registered with the Election Commission, 16 parties were out of the electoral race that has around 12 crore voters listed.
Though there are 300 constituencies, the EC postponed the election for Naogaon-2 constituency following the death of an independent candidate.
A fresh schedule for the seat will be announced soon.
Security has been stepped up across the country after a series of arson, including a fire on a moving train, Benapole Express, on Friday night that left four people dead.
A total of 14 fire incidents were reported in 16 hours from 6pm on 5 January across the country, the Fire Service and Civil Defence said.
Some eight lakh security personnel have been deployed to maintain poll-time atmosphere by monitoring for violations of codes of conduct across the country.
