BNP wins Thakurgaon-1 by-election by 131,000 votes: Jamaat announces Friday protest over alleged irregularities

BNP candidate Mirza Faisal Amin has won the Thakurgaon-1 by-election by a margin of 131,336 votes. In the declared results, Mirza Faisal Amin, contesting with the sheaf of paddy symbol, received 227,789 votes. His nearest rival, Delawar Hossain of Jamaat-e-Islami, nominated by the 11-party unity and contesting with the scales symbol, received 96,453 votes.

District Returning Officer Kamrul Islam announced the results of all 185 polling centres at the election result collection and presentation centre set up at the District Shilpakala Academy at around 9:30pm on Thursday.

Among the other candidates, Khademul Islam of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, with the hand fan symbol, received 3,288 votes. Abdul Alim Nizami of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, with the banyan tree symbol, received 836 votes, and Husain Muhammad Omar Faruk of Bangladesh Congress, with the green coconut symbol, received 449 votes.

Meanwhile, the Thakurgaon district Jamaat-e-Islami has announced a protest rally for Friday, alleging irregularities, fake votes, vote rigging and attacks on its leaders and activists in the election.

Delawar Hossain, the 11-party unity's nominated candidate, announced the programme at a press conference at the district Jamaat office at around 9:30pm on Thursday. He said the rally would be held at 3pm on Friday.

At the press conference, Delawar Hossain alleged that from the very start of voting, Jamaat's polling agents were driven out of various centres. During counting, too, their agents were not allowed to stay at many centres. He also claimed that at some places ballot boxes were brought in without the results being given.

The Jamaat candidate further alleged that at the Kharibari High School centre in Rajagaon Union, their chief election agent was beaten while protesting the open stamping of ballots for the sheaf of paddy symbol. Members of the administration later rescued him, he said.

He also alleged attacks on the homes and shops of Jamaat leaders and activists around the election. Delawar Hossain claimed that 15 to 20 of their polling agents were beaten; four of them were admitted to hospital and the others received local treatment.

Referring to the garlanding and reception of the BNP candidate and the distribution of sweets before the election results were announced, Delawar Hossain said it made them feel the result had been decided in advance.

On the next steps over the election results, Delawar Hossain said local leaders would sit in a meeting after receiving the results from all centres and collecting detailed information about the injured leaders and activists. A final decision would then be announced.

The Election Commission's position, by contrast, was that the voting had been peaceful. At the Election Bhaban in Agargaon on Thursday afternoon, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters that the Thakurgaon-1 by-election had been completed in a fair, free and peaceful environment. Voting ran from 8am to 4pm and ended at all centres within the scheduled time, and no untoward incident occurred during voting, he said.

On the detention of three people on suspicion of being fake voters, the EC secretary said three people had been detained, but no confirmed information about their political identity or involvement was immediately available, and law enforcement agencies were investigating. On a video circulated on social media about a presiding officer's photograph being missing, he said the person's identity had been confirmed by matching information with the central database, and explanations had also been given to the rival candidates' agents.