As Voting Ends, Tarique Rahman Sets One Massive Condition to Accept Results
Bangladesh National Party Chairperson Tarique Rahman waves as he comes out after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (AP Photo)
Voting in the 13th parliamentary elections in Bangladesh concluded at 4:30pm (local time) on Thursday and reports have stated that counting is underway across the country as the frontrunner Bangladesh National Party’s (BNP) chairperson Tarique Rahman said that his party would accept the electoral results if the polls are held in free and fair manner.
During an interaction with the media, Rahman said, “If the election is free, if it is fair, if it is without controversy, then why would we not accept it? Of course we will accept it. All parties will accept it.”
The voting took place in the backdrop of a student-led protest which ousted the then Prime Miner Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in August 2024 and an interim government took charge under Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, center, addresses to the media after casting his vote in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (AP Photo)
Rahman, who cast his ballot earlier in the day, laid out conditions to accept the results in the ongoing Bangladesh elections and said, “But there is one condition here. The election must be neutral. The election must be peaceful.”
Amid reports of “irregularities” in the Bangladesh polls, Rahman said that attempts are being made to mislead voters through some “unwanted incidents,” Daily Star reported. “These kinds of things cannot be accepted. No one will accept them,” Rahman added.Story continues below this ad
The voting in the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh was held along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package. The voting began at 7:30am (local time) and continued till 4:30pm amid tight security measures.
Bangladesh Election Commission’s Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said that till 2pm, around 48 percent of voting was recorded nationwide, PTI reported. Over 12.77 crore voters were regered to cast their ballots at 42,779 polling stations in 299 constituencies nationwide.
Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Yunus said the election was a moment of national joy and he was upbeat regarding the polls. “This is a day of great joy. Today is the birthday of a new Bangladesh,” Yunus told reporters.
