Mirza Faisal Amin Casts His Vote at 8 AM, Expects an 'Absolute Victory' in the Thakurgaon-1 By-Election
BNP-nominated candidate Mirza Faisal Amin cast his own vote at around 8 AM on Thursday in the by-election to the Thakurgaon-1 (Sadar, Ruhia and Bhulli) seat of the 13th National Parliament. He voted at the Thakurgaon Government Girls' High School centre.
Before entering and after leaving the polling centre, Mirza Faisal Amin exchanged greetings with ordinary voters present there.
Answering reporters' questions after voting, the BNP candidate said: 'Voting has only just begun. I have cast my vote. I expect a big win. We will achieve an absolute victory, Insha'Allah. I will now visit different centres and try to see what the situation is.'
He added: 'I feel it will undoubtedly be held in a festive atmosphere. I see no apprehension. All voters are my voters; everyone will vote peacefully. If the administration considers a centre risky by its own judgment, it will take measures accordingly.'
On voter turnout, he said the weather was a bit bad today, but he believed turnout would increase as the day progressed.
Meanwhile, Delawar Hossain, the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate nominated by the 11-party alliance, voted at around 8:30 AM at the Hajipara Adarsha High School centre in Thakurgaon town. He too exchanged greetings with voters present before entering and after leaving the centre.
After voting, Delawar Hossain appealed to voters: 'Come to the polling centres and vote. Voting has only just started, so there is nothing to say about the current situation yet. After some more time passes, it will be possible to speak about the situation.'
He also raised a complaint. According to him, at the centre where he voted, the presiding officer's card carried no photograph. 'How are we to know whether he is that person or someone else? A proxy could be used here,' he said, requesting the returning officer to look into the matter. He added that since the whole election is being held under a party government, whether it will be fair depends on the government, those in charge of the election, and the administration.
Thakurgaon's district election officer and returning officer Md. Kamrul Islam said all preparations had been made to hold a free, fair and impartial election. Adequate members of the law-enforcement agencies are deployed at every centre, and striking and reserve forces have also been kept ready.
According to the election office, there are 185 polling centres across the three upazilas of Thakurgaon-1: 113 in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, 33 in the newly formed Ruhia upazila and 39 in Bhulli upazila.
The constituency has 515,853 voters in total — 257,219 men, 258,630 women and four third-gender voters. In addition, 287 voters have registered to vote by postal ballot, of whom 249 are men and 38 are women.
After scrutiny of nomination papers ended on September 29, six candidates were declared valid for this by-election: BNP's Mirza Faisal Amin and Md. Obaidullah Masud, Jamaat-e-Islami and like-minded parties' candidate Delawar Hossain, Hafez Dr. Md. Khademul Islam, Md. Abdul Alim Nizami and Husain Muhammad Omar Faruk. But on October 5, BNP district vice-president Md. Obaidullah Masud withdrew his candidacy by party decision. Five candidates remain in the final contest, with Mirza Faisal Amin and Delawar Hossain the main rivals.
The Thakurgaon-1 seat fell vacant after Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was elected President, which is why this by-election is being held. In the presidential election on August 20, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was elected President by defeating the 11-party unity candidate, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chairman retired Colonel Oli Ahmad, by 255 votes.
In the 13th National Parliament election held on February 12 this year, former BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir won this seat with 228,075 votes. His nearest rival, Jamaat candidate Delawar Hossain, received 132,584 votes, while Islami Andolan Bangladesh candidate Md. Khademul Islam received 3,833 votes.
