Thakurgaon-1 by-election at dawn: 185 centres ready for 516,138 voters — nine polling officials withdrawn on the eve of voting

Preparations for voting in the Thakurgaon-1 by-election are almost complete. With campaigning over, candidates and voters now await the vote. Polling will begin at 8am on Thursday (October 29).

The campaign period ended at 8am on Tuesday (October 27). From 11am on Wednesday (October 28), the district election office began distributing polling materials at the big field of Thakurgaon Zilla School. District Election Officer and Returning Officer Md Kamrul Islam inaugurated the activity. Before that, members of the police, Ansar and VDP took charge of their respective duties from the officials concerned.

The constituency, comprising the Thakurgaon Sadar, Bhulli and Ruhia thana areas, has 22 unions and one municipality. There are 516,138 voters in total. Among them, 257,475 are men, 258,659 are women and four are third-gender voters. The number of women voters is 1,184 higher than that of men.

According to Election Commission information, 115 of the constituency's 185 polling centres have been identified as highly important. Preparations are in place to deploy additional law enforcement personnel to strengthen security at those centres.

On Wednesday (October 28), the day before voting, nine polling officials of the by-election were withdrawn. According to the report, allegations had been raised against them of directly and indirectly supporting the ruling party. Following the allegations, they were withdrawn and new officials were appointed in their place.

District Returning Officer and District Election Officer Kamrul Islam confirmed the withdrawal of the polling officials. He said, 'They have been withdrawn in view of various allegations. New officials have been appointed in those places.'

According to the list of withdrawn officials, they include teachers of various educational institutions and one bank official. They are Masud Rana of the Sabuj Government Primary School centre in Thakurgaon municipality, Joynal Abedin of Thakurgaon Government College centre, Zulfikar Ali of Thakurgaon Road Girls' High School centre, Farida Yasmin of Gopalpur Government Primary School centre, Sadekul Islam of Salandar Pachpir Danga Independent Ebtedayee Madrasa centre, Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Singia Munsipara Government Primary School centre, Obaidur Rahman of Daulatpur Soleman Khan Multipurpose High School centre, Shahadul Islam of Balapara Dimukhi High School centre and Abdul Jabbar of Baragram Alim Madrasa centre — all assistant presiding officers.

Five candidates are contesting the by-election. They are Mirza Faisal Amin of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP, paddy sheaf), Delawar Hossain of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (scales), Md Abdul Alim Nizami of Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan (banyan tree), Husain Muhammad Omar Faruk of Bangladesh Congress (green coconut) and Md Khademul Islam of Islami Andolan Bangladesh (hand fan).

District Election Officer and Returning Officer Md Kamrul Islam said the necessary preparations for holding the vote smoothly have been completed. Ensuring that voters can come to the centres and exercise their franchise without hindrance is now the main goal.

Thakurgaon's Superintendent of Police Md Belal Hossain said no side will be given any special advantage in the election. He expressed hope that everyone will accept the election result. He also believes a beautiful election can be held through combined efforts.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is on alert in the election area. The force's Thakurgaon Sector Commander Colonel Md Suruj Mia said the necessary preparations have been taken to ensure voters can come to the centres safely and cast their votes.

The Special Response Battalion (SRB-13) has strengthened security activities. The battalion's commander, Lt Colonel Manjur Karim, said various steps have been taken to ensure voters' security, keep the law and order situation normal and complete polling in a peaceful environment. He gave the information at the Thakurgaon Zilla Boys' High School field on Wednesday.

With campaigning over, the candidates no longer have the opportunity to go to the voters. On Thursday, attention will be on voter turnout, the polling environment and the result. This vote will determine the next public representative of the Thakurgaon-1 constituency.