Voting in the country’s 23rd presidential election has concluded. Polling began at 2:10 p.m. Thursday and continued until 5:00 p.m. Most members of parliament cast their votes within the first two hours after polling began.
However, BNP’s Mirza Abbas, independent MP Rumin Farhana, Ghazi Nazrul Islam (expelled from Jamaat), and Islami Andolan Bangladesh MP Maulana Mahmudul Hossain Oliullah were not seen voting.
BNP sources said Mirza Abbas, the MP for Dhaka-8, has been undergoing treatment in Malaysia for an extended period due to illness, and did not come to vote for that reason. Ghazi Nazrul Islam was expelled from Jamaat over allegations of moral misconduct, and has not been seen in public since. Islami Andolan Bangladesh, meanwhile, boycotted the presidential election; Maulana Mahmudul Hossain Oliullah did not vote in line with the party’s decision. Nothing is known about the reason independent MP Rumin Farhana did not vote.
Earlier, when voting began Thursday afternoon, Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmed was the first to cast his vote. Acting Speaker Kaiser Kamal voted next. Prime Minister Tareque Rahman and BNP’s presidential candidate, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, then cast their votes.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report