With the ruling party Bangladesh Awami League poised to win a historic fourth straight.
The 12th National Parliamentary Election has begun, and reports of low voter turnout and intermittent unrest around the nation have been made since this morning.
Less than anticipated voter turnout has been recorded by voice7 news journalists in Dhaka and throughout the nation, including Dinajpur, Chattogram, Bhola, Chapainawabganj, and Khulna.
Only 35 of the 13,000 registered voters had cast ballots in the first three hours until 11 am, according to a Voice7 News correspondent who was visiting the Gulshan Model School and College center in the Gulshan-2 area of Dhaka.
But there were unexpected lines until five to ten minutes after ten in the morning.
According to presiding officer Liton Das, only 50 votes were cast during the first two hours of voting at the Udayan School centre in the Dhaka-8 constituency (Ramna-Motijheel).
"The voting is going very well," Das says.
In the first four hours of voting across three centres in the Dhaka-8 seat, just 8% of ballots were cast, according to data from the Election Management applications.
A total of 898 voters participated in the four and a half hours of voting, with 50 of them using two booths at Tejgaon Adarsha School & College in the Dhaka-12 constituency.
Similar circumstances existed in Uttara High School and Collage in Dhaka-18.
The polling place's presiding officer, Tofazzal Hossain, stated that while there are 2158 registered voters overall—just 120 of whom have cast ballots as of the report's filing time of noon—under center-3, which is reserved for male voters.
On the other hand, centres under the Dhaka-16 constituency began to observe a rise in voter turnout.
For the first four hours of voting, there was also a low turnout of voters outside the capital.
Voter turnout was noticeably low at Dinajpur polling places until 10 a.m. Election authorities expressed hope that as the impacts of the fog and chilly weather subside, voter turnout will increase.
In the meantime, candidates' supporters have gathered in front of the centres and are yelling slogans.
In the initial part of Election Day, lower-than-expected voter turnout was also seen in Cumilla, Bagerhat, Barishal, and Habiganj.
One person died amid nationwide reports of intermittent violence.
As the nation prepares for the 12th National Parliamentary Election, reports of sporadic violence have surfaced everywhere.
An Awami League candidate's supporter was fatally stabbed on Sunday morning in Tengor, Mirkadim, Sadar upazila, Munshiganj, allegedly by supporters of the independent candidate.
Read More: Election 2024: A boat supporter in Munshiganj-3 Constituency was fatally hacked
There have been reports of violence in several Chattogram locations.
Two persons were shot during a fight in the Kalshi-Pahartali region of Chattogram-10 seat between the supporters of the independent candidate and the Awami League candidate.
As opposition party leaders and activists attempted to prevent voters from casting their ballots, a brawl between police and BNP activists broke out in Chattogram City's Chandgaon area on Sunday morning.
An hour before voting started, there was a report of a crude bomb explosion at a Jashore polling station that injured a Bangladesh Ansar member.
There have also been reports of clashes in the Barishal-5 constituency.
Salahuddin Ripon, an independent candidate in the Barisal-5 (Sadar) constituency, charged that Awami League supporters had attacked his supporters, driven agents out of the center, and obstructed the polling process.
Alleged irregularities
A polling place in the Monohardi-Belabo seat in Narsingdi-4 has cancelled voting because of alleged irregularities.
Voting was cancelled, according to District Returning Officer Dr. Badiul Alam, because of suspected ballot stuffing.
Awami League supporters in Cumilla-4 (Debidwar) have been accused of stuffing ballots by stamping the boat symbol on voting papers.
The boat symbol appears on multiple pages of the vote book in a social media video that has gone viral.
Officials present during the incident, including assistant presiding officers, mentioned that several people arrived, forcibly stamped the "boat" symbol, and then fled.
A Jatiya Party candidate in Narsingdi-2 and two candidates in Mymensingh's Gafargaon constituency have boycotted the poll, citing irregularities.
In the Gafargaon constituency of Mymensingh, two independent candidates declared their boycott of the election, citing anomalies and vote manipulation.
With an eagle for the independent candidate Abul Hossain Dipu and a truck for the candidate Kaiser Ahmed, they declared they would boycott the election because most of the poll workers in the upazila's fifteen unions and municipal regions had been ejected from their places of business.
In the meantime, the Jatiya Party's candidate for Narsingdi-2, Rakiqul Alam Selim, has withdrew from the race, alleging anomalies.
In the Gafargaon constituency of Mymensingh, two independent candidates declared their boycott of the election, citing anomalies and vote manipulation.
With an eagle for the independent candidate Abul Hossain Dipu and a truck for the candidate Kaiser Ahmed, they declared they would boycott the election because most of the poll workers in the upazila's fifteen unions and municipal regions had been ejected from their places of election.
In the meantime, the Jatiya Party's candidate for Narsingdi-2, Rakiqul Alam Selim, has withdrew from the race, alleging anomalies.
Amid an opposition boycott, voting for the 12th parliamentary election got underway on Sunday morning, with the ruling Awami League poised to win a historic fourth straight term.
Voting in 299 of the 300 constituencies in the nation started at 8 a.m. and will run nonstop until 4 p.m. under heavy security.
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