Voting for the 13th National Parliamentary Election and a national referendum will take place on 12 February across Bangladesh. Polling will begin at 7:30am and continue until 4:30pm.
Government and Election Commission (EC) officials have said the announcement of results may face a slight delay. They cited the dual voting system and postal ballot counting as key reasons.
At a press conference on 21 January, Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser Shafiqul Alam said there could be a short delay in publishing the parliamentary results.
On 23 January, EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said voters will cast two ballots this time. He added that postal ballots must also be counted. “For this reason, counting will take more time than usual,” he said.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has expressed concern about possible delays in receiving the results.
On 10 February, while inaugurating a media centre for foreign journalists, the EC Secretary again addressed the issue. He said the results of postal ballots, which are handled by returning officers in each constituency, may take comparatively more time to finalise.
He explained that postal ballot papers require multiple checks due to their structure. Officials must verify declaration forms and signatures before accepting each ballot as valid. However, he said the delay will not be excessive and efforts are being made to manage the process efficiently.
According to the EC, if voting is held on 12 February, returning officers will begin compiling results at 10:00am on 13 February. They will add the results from all polling centres under their jurisdiction and announce constituency-wise totals from their offices. The consolidated national results will later be presented at the Election Commission Secretariat.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah said the parliamentary election and referendum results will be announced together. Vote counting at centres will also begin at the same time.
He said this decision was taken to prevent confusion or unrest. If one result is announced earlier, it could create tension outside polling areas.
Another Election Commissioner, Md. Anwarul Islam Sarkar, said he hopes results will be available as soon as possible after voting ends. He indicated that announcements may begin in the first part of 13 February.
EC officials said postal ballots are the main reason counting may take longer this year. After voting ends, postal ballots will be counted in designated rooms under the supervision of returning officers. The EC has appointed one presiding officer for each of the 300 parliamentary constituencies.
During counting, officials will open envelopes and verify the voter’s signature on the declaration form. Ballots with proper signatures will be accepted. If a declaration form lacks a signature, the ballot will be rejected. Valid ballots will then be included in the final totals for both the parliamentary election and the referendum.
Officials say verification and scrutiny steps are necessary to ensure accuracy. Final results are expected to be announced from 13 February, after compilation by returning officers.