Voting in the 13th national election was held in a peaceful and festive atmosphere yesterday across the three hill districts — Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari — with no major untoward incidents reported.
While voter turnout was comparatively low in Bandarban, long queues were seen at many polling centres in Rangamati and Khagrachhari.
In Bandarban, voter presence was relatively thin at most centres since voting began at 7:30am.
At the Government Girls’ High School centre in Bandarban town, Presiding Officer Satyajit Majumdar said around 55 percent of the 3,784 registered voters cast their ballots by the time voting ended at 4:30pm.
A similar picture was seen at the Bus Station Government Primary School centre, where female voter turnout was comparatively higher. Presiding Officer Abu Hasan Md Nayeem said about 56 percent of the 3,311 registered voters exercised their franchise.
Election officials said turnout at remote centres ranged between 45 and 55 percent.
According to district administration sources, voting was held at 186 centres for a total of 3,15,422 registered voters in the district.
In Rangamati, long queues of voters were visible at different centres from the morning.
At the Shukrachhari Government Primary School centre, 31 percent of votes were cast by 12:00pm, while the figure stood at 42 percent at the Hajachhari centre at the same time.
At 6:00pm, the office of the district returning officer said a total of 54.07 percent votes were cast across the district’s 10 upazilas, excluding postal ballots.
Rangamati Superintendent of Police Muhammad Abdur Rakib said voting ended peacefully across the district, except for a few isolated allegations of fake voting.
In Khagrachhari, voting was held peacefully at 203 centres, with visibly high voter turnout at polling centres across Khagrachhari Sadar, Panchhari, Dighinala, Mahalchhari, Lakshmichhari, Matiranga, Manikchhari and Guimara upazilas. Participation of female voters was also significant.
District Election Officer Md SM Shahadat Hossain said nearly 60 percent of the district’s 5,54,414 registered voters cast their ballots.
To ensure security, members of the BGB, police, Rab, Ansar and VDP were deployed across all three districts, with additional measures taken at vulnerable centres. The administration said necessary materials and officials were present at all centres on time.
(Our Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari correspondents contributed to this report.)