DHAKA — Mohibuzzaman Kochi, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader, died on Thursday after allegedly being pushed and falling at a polling center in the country’s national parliament election, local media reported.
The incident occurred around 9 am local time when he went to cast his ballot. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors later declared him dead. Police said an investigation has been launched into the incident.
Local media also reported that three people were injured after a crude bomb exploded at a polling center in Gopalganj, citing police.
The voting began on Thursday at 7:30 am local time in the country’s national parliament election, with more than 127 million registered voters expected to cast their ballots at over 42,000 polling centers nationwide, and will be closed at 4:30 pm local time.
Long queues of voters stretched outside polling stations in parts of Dhaka on Wednesday night before voting began. “This is my first time voting, and I’m really excited,” Miraz Ahmed, a Gen Z voter, told Xinhua Wednesday night. “I’m getting my voter number from this help desk so tomorrow morning I can go straight into the polling station without waiting,” he said.
According to the Election Commission, a total of 2,028 candidates are contesting for 299 out of the 300 directly-elected parliamentary constituencies. The election for the last seat will be held later because of the death of a candidate.
This is the South Asian country’s first general election since Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister in August 2024 amid nationwide political chaos.
In Bangladesh, a party can form the government only if it clinches 151 seats in total. Officials said the counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after voting concludes.