DHAKA, Feb 14, (V7N): A total of 4,82,00,660 votes were cast in favour of ‘Yes’ in the referendum on the implementation of the July National Charter, held alongside the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election, according to official figures.

In contrast, 2,20,71,726 votes were recorded against the constitutional reform proposals, marking the ‘No’ votes, said Election Commission Public Relations Director Md. Ruhul Amin Mollik last night.

According to EC sources, the total number of valid votes in the referendum stood at 7,02,72,386, while 74,22,637 ballots were declared invalid. Altogether, 7,76,95,023 votes were cast in the referendum, reflecting a voter turnout of 60.84 percent.

Speaking at a briefing at the Election Commission Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka, Senior Secretary of the EC Secretariat Akhtar Ahmed said the referendum turnout was slightly higher than that of the parliamentary election.

He explained that although the results of two parliamentary constituencies in Chattogram—Chattogram-2 and Chattogram-4—were suspended following a court order, there was no restriction on conducting the referendum in those constituencies. As a result, the votes cast there were included in the final referendum tally.

Responding to a query about the gazette publication, the senior secretary stated that the results of both the parliamentary election and the referendum would be published in a single consolidated gazette.

He further added that the gazette will be issued at the earliest possible time after receiving hard copies of the final results from returning officers and completing the necessary scrutiny, officials of the Election Commission confirmed.

END/AJ/RH/