Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the interim government’s chief adviser, on Wednesday said the announcement of results in the upcoming 13th National Parliament election may be delayed due to the complexity of the vote-counting process.
He made the remarks after an election-focused law and order meeting chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the chief adviser’s office.
The meeting reviewed the overall law and order situation ahead of the parliamentary election and the referendum on the implementation of the July National Charter.
“Participants at the meeting were informed that vote counting may take longer this time. Whenever counting is delayed, rumours tend to spread. That is why this issue is being communicated in advance,” Shafiqul Alam said.
He explained that, alongside the parliamentary election, a referendum will also be held on the same day, meaning two sets of ballots will be counted simultaneously. “In addition, there are postal ballots. As a result, counting may be delayed in some cases,” he added.
The press secretary said several new measures have been introduced this year to ensure accuracy in the counting process. “We want the vote counting to be done properly, even if that means it takes more time,” he said.
The official election campaign for candidates in the 13th National Parliament election begins on Thursday. Voting for both the parliamentary election and the referendum on the July Charter is scheduled to be held on February 12.