At least 27 candidates, including two sitting MPs, boycotted Sunday’s vote citing ballot stuffing and intimidation of their agents mostly by the ruling party men.
YouTuber Ashraful Hossen, well-known as Hero Alom, and singer Dolly Sayontoni are among them. The two MPs are Jafar Alam and Mokabbir Khan from Cox’s Bazar-1 and Sylhet 2 seats respectively.
Of the 27 candidates, most were running independently after being denied the ruling party ticket.
At least two of the candidates demanded re-election to their respective constituencies.
The Election Commission confirmed the figure in a press conference after the voting ended at 4 pm. In the previous general election, nearly 50 candidates boycotted the voting.
The 27 aspirants are among 1,970 candidates, including 436 independent contenders, for 299 constituencies in the 12th parliamentary election, which was already boycotted by the BNP and its like-minded parties.
The voting saw sporadic clashes across the country, with Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal saying he only found agents of Awami League candidates in some centers in Dhaka.
At least one murder was reported by the media while another body was found near a polling station during voting hours.
Law enforcers arrested at least 37 people, mostly ruling party men, for ballot stuffing. Some of them were jailed for up to five years. Meanwhile, the EC sued several others and took action against some election officials over irregularities during the voting.
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