The long-awaited 13th National Parliamentary Election and National Referendum are underway across the country today.

Voting commenced at 7:30 AM and is scheduled to continue uninterrupted until 4:30 PM in 299 constituencies.

While polling has been suspended in the Sherpur-3 constituency due to the death of a candidate, the rest of the country is simultaneously participating in both the general election and the referendum.

A public holiday has been declared nationwide, with shopping malls and various institutions remaining closed.

Candidates and Political Participation
A total of 50 political parties are contesting this election, featuring 2,028 candidates. This includes 1,755 party-affiliated candidates and 273 independents. There are 83 female candidates in the race.

In terms of party representation, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leads with 291 candidates.

Other major participants include Islami Andolan Bangladesh (258 candidates), Jamaat-e-Islami (224, though EC records state 228), Jatiya Party (200), Gono Odhikar Parishad (94), and the National Citizen Party (NCP) with 32 candidates.

Out of 60 registered parties, the Awami League was unable to participate due to its registration being suspended.

Furthermore, several registered parties—including Jasad, Samyabadi Dal (ML), Krishak Sramik Janata League, Bangladesh NAP, Workers Party, Bikalpa Dhara, Tarikat Federation, Trinamool BNP, and BNM—are not contesting the polls.

Voter Demographics and Polling Stations
There are 127,711,793 registered voters nationwide, comprising approximately 64.8 million men, 62.8 million women, and 1,232 Hijra voters. Election analysts suggest that the nearly 45 million youth voters could play a decisive role in the outcome.

Voting is taking place across 42,779 centers. Of these, 21,273 are standard polling stations, while the Election Commission (EC) has identified nearly half of all centers as "important" or "vulnerable." Most stations are equipped with CCTV cameras for monitoring.

Security and Administrative Readiness
To maintain a peaceful environment, approximately 958,000 members of various law enforcement agencies have been deployed. They are supported by the Armed Forces, 2,100 Executive Magistrates, and 657 Judicial Magistrates.

The EC has emphasized that they are utilizing a record number of security personnel and modern technology to ensure a free and fair election.

A special control room has been established at the Commission for real-time surveillance. The administrative effort involves 69 Returning Officers, 958 Assistant Returning Officers, and over 800,000 polling officials.

Postal Ballots and Expatriate Participation
As of 3:40 PM yesterday, 1,138,192 voters from over 120 countries cast their votes via postal ballots. This group includes 526,376 expatriates.

So far, 963,318 ballots have reached the Returning Officers; only those arriving by 4:30 PM today will be counted.

Additionally, 611,816 government employees, polling officials, and detainees have used postal ballots, which will be counted across 299 centers.

Observers, Media, and Forecasts
The election is being monitored by 45,330 local observers and approximately 350 international observers. Around 9,700 journalists are registered to cover the event, including 156 foreign correspondents.

Meanwhile, reports from international outlets, such as The New York Editorial, suggest that the BNP is highly likely to emerge victorious.

The Road to Results
Ballots for the National Parliamentary Election and the Referendum will be counted together. Preliminary results from individual centers will be sent to the Election Commission via Returning Officers.

The EC expects the results for most seats to be available by midnight tonight.

The Commission expressed optimism regarding high voter turnout, noting the massive influx of people returning to their village homes from Dhaka as a positive sign of public engagement.

As the nation expresses its will through the ballot box, all eyes are now on the final results of this historic day.