Bangladesh: Around 68 per cent pressed ‘yes’ in favour of July Charter Referendum, confirms EC

Dhaka: Around 68 per cent of people pressed the ‘yes’ option as Bangladesh held the July Charter referendum alongside the 13th Parliamentary elections, local media reported on Friday citing an Election Commission (EC) official.

EC Senior Secretary Akhter Ahmed was quoted as saying that 4,80,74,429 people voted for ‘yes’ in the referendum while 2,25,65,627 people pressed the ‘no’ button.

Announcing the unofficial results of the 13th National Parliamentary Election and the nationwide referendum during a press briefing at the Bangladesh Election Commission in Dhaka, Ahmed said that the voter turnout in the parliamentary election stood at 59.44 per cent, while participation in the referendum reached 60.26 per cent.

Last month, the Awami League party had accused the decision of holding the referendum by an “illegal” interim government led by Muhammad Yunus as not merely a gross violation of constitutional norms but a calculated effort to mislead people.

The referendum alongside the general elections in Bangladesh, the party said, is a “farce” engineered by the Yunus government and will remain a “black stain” on the country’s constitutional history.

It also alleged that an “illegal government” with no popular mandate is attempting to decide the nation’s future while keeping its people in the dark.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its alliance claimed a decisive victory in the 13th parliamentary elections, local media reported on Friday, citing unofficial results.

The results showed that the BNP-led alliance has triumphed on 210 seats, setting the stage for the formation of a new government led by party chairman Tarique Rahman who is set to become Bangladesh’s first male Prime Minister in almost 35 years.

Tarique is the son of late Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who governed Bangladesh during two separate tenures from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006.

Following Khaleda Zia’s death in December last year, Tarique assumed leadership of the BNP and is now set to lead the nation.

Meanwhile, the political landscape of Chittagong and the Hill Tracts witnessed a major shift in the 13th National Parliament elections, with BNP securing 21 out of a total of 23 parliamentary seats in Chittagong district, Cox’s Bazar and the three Hill Tracts districts and Jamaat-e-Islami securing just two seats.

According to the local media, a majority of ‘no’ votes were cast in the referendum in all three districts.

IANS