Voting in the Rangpur-3 by-polls ended on Saturday (Oct 5) afternoon without report of any untoward incident.
As many as 442,072 voters – 221,310 men and 220,762 women – were expected to exercise their franchise from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. without any break to elect a new representative.
But the turnout percentage was not immediately clear. The counting of votes will begin shortly, local media reported.
The constituency fell vacant after the death of Jatiyo Party chairman H M Ershad on Jul 14. Bangladesh Election Commission announced schedule for the by-polls on Sep 1.
Six candidates are competing for the seat but locals it will be a close contest among Jatiyo Party’s Rahgir Al Mahi alias Saad Ershad, BNP’s Rita Rahman and independent candidate Hossain Mokbul Shahriar Asif.
The other contestants are – NPP’s Shafiul Alam (mango), Gano Front’s Kazi M Shahidullah Bayazid (fish) and Khelafat Majlish’s Towhidur Rahman Mandal (wall clock).
The ruling Bangladesh Awami League withdrew its candidates in support of the Jatiyo Party contestant.
