Voting in the 13th National Parliamentary Election has begun across the country. Polls opened at 7:30am on Thursday, with voters casting their ballots nationwide. At the same time, a referendum is being held on proposed constitutional reforms under the July National Charter.
According to the Election Commission, voting is taking place in 299 out of 300 constituencies. The election in Sherpur-3 has been postponed following the death of a candidate. A total of 50 political parties are participating in the election.
There are 2,028 candidates contesting the polls, including 1,755 nominated by political parties and 273 independent contenders. Among them, 83 are women (63 party-nominated and 20 independent) and 1,946 are men.
The total number of registered voters stands at 127,711,793. Of them, 64,825,361 are men, 62,885,200 are women, and 1,232 are registered as third-gender voters.
To oversee the election, 69 returning officers and 598 assistant returning officers have been appointed. Voting is being held at 42,779 polling centers, with 21,506 identified as important.
A total of 785,225 officials are engaged in conducting the election. Members of the army, police, RAB, and other law enforcement agencies have been deployed nationwide to maintain order.