Awami League-backed candidate Mahmud Hasan Ripon unofficially won the by-election to Gaibandha-5, held peacefully today (January 04, 2023).  Ripon won the election by defeating Jatiya Party-backed candidate AHM Golam Shaheed Ranju with a margin of 33,533 votes.  The winning candidate bagged a total of 78,285 votes with the boat symbol while Ranju got 44,752 votes with the plough symbol.  The other candidates of the by-election were Bikalpa Dhara candidate Advocate Jahangir Alam and independent candidate Syed Mahbubur Rahman. Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-polls: Festive mood as voting underway Voting started at 8 am and continued till 4:30 pm. No untoward incident was reported. The election was monitored from Dhaka through a total of 1,242 CCTV cameras while it ended with only a 35 percent turnout. The constituency consists of Saghata and Phulchhari upazilas. On October 12 last year, the Election Commission (EC) suspended the by-election due to “rampant irregularities” on the election day and later the commission fixed January 4 for holding the polls. Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-election held in a disciplined environment: CEC Following the death of Gaibandha-5 lawmaker and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Fazle Rabbi Miah on July 22, 2022, it became a constitutional obligation to hold election for the parliamentary seat by October 20, 2022. Accordingly it was scheduled for October 12. A three-member committee was formed to look into the election irregularities on October 12 last year. Following the recommendations of the committee, the Election Commission took punitive actions against 133 officials including an additional deputy commissioner, five sub-inspectors and returning officer of the election. Read More: No irregularities reported yet in Gaibandha by-election: EC Rashida.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Wednesday said discipline was maintained at the voting centers during the Gaibandha-5 by-election. He made the remarks while talking to journalists after monitoring the by-election to Gaibandha- 5 through CCTV cameras at Election Commission Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon. Blaming the cold weather for the low voter turnout, he said the EC has nothing to be satisfied or dissatisfied over the low voter turnout as it is their (voters) right to cast vote. Asked whether the CCTV cameras will be used during the 12th parliamentary elections, he said CCTV cameras have important role in holding fair election but no decision has been taken yet in this regard. He appreciated the role of district administration and  police saying that they performed their duties with professionalism. The election was monitored directly from Dhaka through a total of 1,242 CCTV cameras. Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-election on Wednesday The voting was monitored by CCTV cameras from 8 am at the EC control room on the fifth floor of the Election Commission building. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, Election Commissioners Ahsan Habib Khan, Md. Alamgir, Rashida Sultana and Anisur Rahman monitored the polls. On October 12 last year, the Election Commission (EC) suspended the by-election due to “rampant irregularities” on the election day and later the commission fixed January 4 for holding the polls. Following the death of Gaibandha-5 lawmaker and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Fazle Rabbi Miah on July 22, 2022, it became a constitutional obligation to hold election for the parliamentary seat by October 20, 2022. Accordingly it was scheduled for October 12. A three-member committee was formed to look into the election irregularities on October 12 last year. Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-polls: Festive mood as voting underway Following the recommendations of the committee, the Election Commission took punitive actions against 133 officials including an additional deputy commissioner, five sub-inspectors and returning officer of the election.