When will election results be announced?

One question on many minds — from political circles to ordinary voters — in the run-up to the 12 February vote has been: when will the election results be published? Will they be announced on the same day, or will it take two or three days? That uncertainty has become a major talking point nationwide.

The Election Commission (EC) insists there will be no unnecessary delay in publishing results and expects that most of the outcomes will be known by the next day.

In an interview with The Business Standard, Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar said, "Inshallah, we hope the results can be published as soon as possible right after the election. We are expecting that the results can be announced in the early part of 13 February." 

However, the EC has noted that because this election involves counting three types of ballots — national parliament votes, the referendum, and postal ballots — the process may take comparatively more time than usual. 

EC targets the morning of 13 February

EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed has said the commission expects counting to be completed by about 10am tomorrow.  

He stated, "There is no reason for results to be delayed. Every ballot will be counted. Voting will begin at 7:30am on 12 February. Counting will be completed by 10am the next day, Friday." 

Simultaneous counting and announcement

EC Commissioner Abul Fazl Md. Sanaullah said that as soon as voting ends, counting will begin at each polling station. First, the ballots for the national parliamentary election and the referendum will be separated, and then both will be counted simultaneously. 

He explained, "Counting will begin at the same time. If we separate the processes, it may happen that agents leave after one result is declared and before the other. Or if the referendum result is announced first, it could cause unrest. We do not want that – both will be counted together." 

Results from both votes will also be announced together, with preliminary results released at the respective polling centres, he added. 

How results will be compiled and sent to EC

The EC says that all results from polling centres will be compiled and entered into Form-18, and the returning officers will sign it in the presence of candidates or their agents. Based on this compiled result, the official gazette will be published. 

Jasmine Tuli, member of the Electoral Reform Commission and former additional secretary of the EC Secretariat, told TBS that it could take until Friday noon to get complete results. She noted that although many constituency results may arrive by around 10am the next day, full consolidated results might take longer – especially if results from remote centres are delayed or recounts are needed.

How results will reach EC

The EC has said that the Election Management System (EMS) software will be used for collecting and transmitting results. Results for the national parliament election and the referendum will be entered into separate modules. Two data entry operators under each assistant returning officer will scan and upload results from polling centres into the software, after which returning officers will verify and prepare cumulative results. 

For the national parliament election, totals from the general centre and postal ballot centre will be combined in the consolidated result sheet, which will then be sent to the EC in both hard and soft copy by 13 February. 

The same process will be followed for the referendum ballots. 

Management of law and order situation

The EC is confident about law and order during and after counting. At every constituency, electoral, judicial, and executive magistrates, observer committees, and law-and-order cells will work together. Information will be collected every two hours and sent to the central monitoring cell, with real-time data available through automated systems, CCTV cameras, body-worn cameras, and drones.

According to the EC, of the registered 60 political parties, 50 are contesting, and alongside independent candidates, a total of 2,028 candidates are competing for 299 seats. The total number of voters stands at 12.77 crore.