Thakurgaon-1 by-election: orderly voting at 185 centres, Faisal Amin hopes for landslide win
Photo: Collected
Voting in the by-election to the Thakurgaon-1 constituency, which began simultaneously at 8am on Thursday, is going on in an orderly atmosphere. Votes will be cast until 4pm at 185 centres in the Sadar, Ruhia and Bhulli areas.
In this five-candidate contest, BNP candidate Mirza Faisal Amin, after casting his own vote, expressed hope of winning by a big margin. He has no concerns about the voting environment, and he believes voter turnout will rise as the day goes on.
Mirza Faisal Amin cast his vote at the Thakurgaon Government Girls’ High School centre at around 8:30am. Before that, he visited the graves of his parents at the town’s Senua old graveyard.
Coming out after voting, he told journalists, ‘The expectation is a big win. We will achieve a landslide victory, Insha’Allah.’
Expressing satisfaction with the election environment, the BNP candidate said the voting would undoubtedly take place in a festive atmosphere. He does not see any concerns, and everyone will vote peacefully. On turnout, he said the weather is somewhat bad, but he hopes more voters will come as the day progresses. Although it is a by-election, there is a possibility of a large voter turnout.
On the question of accepting the result, Mirza Faisal Amin said, ‘The first condition of democracy is tolerance of others’ opinions. When we are ready to accept the opinions of other parties, I do not have the audacity to reject the people’s verdict. The people’s verdict is final.’
Security has been tightened across the constituency to keep the voting free, fair and peaceful. On duty are 21 platoons of BGB, 2,272 police and 2,405 Ansar members. Judicial and executive magistrates and members of the electoral inquiry committee are also in the field. Voting is being observed by 177 domestic and local observers, including four foreign observers.
Voting is under way in 989 booths at the constituency’s 185 centres. There are a total of 5 lakh 16 thousand 138 voters here: 2 lakh 57 thousand 468 men, 2 lakh 58 thousand 666 women and four hijra voters.
The candidates are BNP’s Mirza Faisal Amin (sheaf of paddy), Jamaat-e-Islami’s Md Delawar Hossain (scales), Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan’s Md Abdul Alim Nizami (banyan tree), Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Hafez Md Khademul Islam (hand fan) and Bangladesh Congress’s Hussain Muhammad Omar Faruk (green coconut).
In the last, 13th parliamentary election, the current President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir became MP from this constituency. The seat was declared vacant after he was sworn in as president. The Election Commission then announced the by-election schedule on 10 September.
After voting ends, counting will take place at each centre, and the results will be announced there as well. A centre has been set up at the district Shilpakala Academy to collect and publicise the results.
Background
According to a report by The Daily Star Bangla on 21 August 2026, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was elected president by MPs’ votes the previous day and was due to be sworn in at Bangabhaban on the evening of 21 August.
Dhaka Times reported on 7 October 2026 that after district BNP vice-president Obaidullah Masud withdrew his nomination, district BNP president Mirza Faisal Amin became the party’s sole candidate; a total of six people had submitted nomination papers.
By the numbers
According to a Khobor Sangjog report of 12 February 2026, in the 13th parliamentary election Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir received 2 lakh 28 thousand 75 votes in Thakurgaon-1 with the sheaf of paddy symbol; Jamaat’s Delawar received 1 lakh 32 thousand 584 votes, a margin of 95 thousand 491 votes.
In that election, Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Md Khademul Islam received 3,833 votes, according to the same report.
District angle
According to Khobor Sangjog, voting in this constituency in the 13th parliamentary election was also held at 185 centres.
Sources
Background sources: The Daily Star Bangla, 21 August 2026; Dhaka Times, 7 October 2026; Khobor Sangjog, 12 February 2026
