Chattogram lively as people vote in joyful atmosphere

Voters began lining up at polling centres early this morning (12 February) in Chattogram as voting for the 13th general election and the July Charter referendum got underway in a largely peaceful and festive atmosphere.

Polling started at 7:30am across the city's 16 constituencies, as well as the whole country, though voting at a few centres began slightly later due to the completion of procedural formalities.

Long queues were seen outside several centres, including the Omar Gani MES College polling station in the Khulshi area under the Chattogram-10 constituency. 

Voting at the centre began shortly after 7:30am, and when polling commenced on the third floor of the men's building, polling agents welcomed the start of voting with applause.

According to the returning officers' offices, a total of 115 candidates are contesting in Chattogram's 16 seats. 

The city has 6,682,517 registered voters: 3,483,887 men, 3,198,560 women and 70 transgender voters. 

In comparison, Chattogram had 6,314,317 voters in the 12th parliamentary election held on 7 January 2024.

This election is being conducted at 1,965 polling centres with 12,601 booths across the city. 

Each centre has a presiding officer, while 653 centres have been marked as vulnerable.