If the 13th National Assembly election and referendum are fair, I will accept whatever the results are, said Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman. He also said that even if they make concessions on small issues, they will take necessary measures on big issues.
On Thursday (February 12) morning, after casting their votes at a polling station at the Manipur Boys High School grounds in Mirpur, Jamaat Ameer made these remarks to the media.
Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said, "For many years, the countrymen could not vote, and I could not either. I was in jail in 2014, 2018 and 2024, and I did not get the opportunity to vote. After losing these three votes, today, Alhamdulillah, Allah Ta'ala has given us the opportunity to vote. May Allah Ta'ala start a new chapter in Bangladesh through this vote."
"Not only me, especially the youth who could not vote in their lives, were waiting for today's vote. Let this vote be peaceful, fair, free from terrorism, free from occupation and acceptable to all – this is our prayer. Through this vote, a government is formed in the coming days that will not be the government of any individual, family or party; rather, a government that will be the government of the people of 18 crore people. We are optimistic about forming that government,' added the Jamaat Ameer.
At that time, seeking everyone's cooperation, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said, 'The country is ours for all. We have to build this country, everyone has to join hands. For this, the media plays an important role. The media is the fourth pillar of society. We want this fourth pillar to be by our side in building the country.'
In response to the journalists' questions, the Jamaat Ameer said, I only voted. Now we will look at the remaining centers, we will take news from the entire country. We will definitely ignore any small issue, but we will not make concessions if it is a big issue, we will do whatever we need to do. Because we do not want people's rights to be lost, we want the result to be through fair elections. When the vote is fair and impartial, we will accept the results, and others will have to accept them too—this is the beauty of democracy.
Wishing the success of the election, he said, "I urge everyone so that both men and women can vote peacefully, safely, and with a clear mind. Everyone, come out of your homes and exercise your rights and be proud partners in nation-building, and fulfill your responsibilities."
Voting began at 7:30 am on Thursday (February 12), but voters started arriving at the centers from early morning. Voters will vote in 299 parliamentary constituencies across the country until 4:30 pm.
Voting is being held at a total of 42,779 polling stations in the country. There will be 247,482 polling booths in these centers. A total of 50 political parties are participating in this election.
A total of 2,028 candidates are contesting in this election. Of these, 1,755 are political party candidates and 273 are independent candidates. There are 83 female candidates (63 from parties and 20 independents).
This time, 127,711,893 voters from 299 constituencies in the country will exercise their voting rights in the national parliamentary elections and referendum. Among them, 64,825,361 are male voters, 62,885,200 are female voters and 1,232 are transgender.
The EC has canceled the election in Sherpur-3 constituency due to the death of a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate. Due to this, elections are being held simultaneously in 299 parliamentary constituencies except this constituency.
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