Dhaka, 12 February (H.S.): Voting for Bangladesh's 13th parliamentary elections and national referendum ended peacefully at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, after commencing at 7:30 a.m. across 42,779 polling stations in 299 constituencies. Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed reported approximately 48% turnout by 2 p.m., anticipating all results by late night.

According to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), 12.77 crore voters were registered for the polls, marked by tight security with nearly 900,000 police personnel deployed alongside 657 judicial magistrates on five-day duty since Tuesday.

Voting in Sherpur-3 was canceled following a candidate's death, leaving 299 seats contested primarily between BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami alliances.BNP Chairperson Tariq Rahman cast his vote around 9:30 a.m. at Gulshan Model High School and College in Dhaka, while Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Dr. Shafiqur Rahman voted at Monipur High School and College.

The process drew around 200 foreign journalists, 55,454 local observers from 81 organizations, and 394 international monitors, signaling the end of Professor Muhammad Yunus's 18-month interim government.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar