Major (retd) Shahjahan Omar, who left BNP and was nominated by the ruling Awami League (AL) for the Jhalakathi-1 constituency, secured a landslide victory by a huge margin of votes in yesterday's 12th National Parliamentary Election. Shahjahan was elected by 95,478 votes while his rival Abu Bakkar with the "rose" symbol got only 1,624 votes. Jatiya Party-backed candidate Ezazul Huq bagged 1,272 votes in the election held at 90 polling stations. Detective police picked up Shahjahan from a house in Dhaka in the early hours of November 5 as a suspect in a case filed over burning a bus. The same day, a Dhaka court placed him on remand for four days in the case. Read more: Election 2024: Awami League secures 16 out of 20 Dhaka seats On November 29, the then BNP Vice Chairman Shahjahan walked out of jail after securing bail from a Dhaka court. The following day, he submitted a nomination paper online as an Awami League candidate for Jhalakathi-1 constituency. The same day, BNP expelled him from the party for breaching party discipline. Shahjahan Omar served as state minister for law during the last BNP led government. Read more: Election 2024: China congratulates PM Hasina, says committed to working with her

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen has congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for successfully holding of the 12th National Parliamentary Election and Awami League’s victory. Ambassador Yao conveyed warm congratulations and best wishes from Chinese leaders to PM Sheikh Hasina this morning. The Chinese ambassador called on PM Hasina at Ganabhaban and reaffirmed that Chinese leaders are committed to working with her to carry forward the long-established friendship, enhance mutual trust, and deepen practical cooperation – thereby uplift the China-Bangladesh Strategic Partnership of Cooperation to a new height. Ambassador Yao noted that both China and Bangladesh are at a critical stage of development and revitalization, and China would always be the most trustworthy partner and the most reliable friend of Bangladesh on the way to modernization. Read more: Celebrity candidates who failed to shine at the 12th National Election Under the guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Sheikh Hasina, China and Bangladesh have set a model of mutual respect and win-win cooperation, said the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka. China will firmly support Bangladesh in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in opposing external interference, it said. China will also support Bangladesh in maintaining unity and stability, and in playing a more active role in international and regional affairs, said the embassy. China is committed to assisting Bangladesh in realizing the “Vision 2041” and the dream of “Sonar Bangla,” it said. Ambassador Yao said that China is prepared to strengthen all-round cooperation with Bangladesh, and take due actions to facilitate and expand trade and investment with Bangladesh, promote high-quality China-Bangladesh Belt and Road cooperation, and make its own contribution to realizing “Smart Bangladesh”. Read more: Election 2024: Former BNP vice chairman Shahjahan Omar wins from Jhalakathi-1

Some heavyweight candidates including nominees from the Awami League and other parties, and independent contenders failed to secure victory in their respective constituencies in the 12th parliamentary elections. Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman Anwar Hossain Manju, Workers' Party's Fazle Hossain Badsha, Jatiyo Party's Sharifa Quader, Krishak Sramik Janata League's Quader Siddiqi, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's Hasanul Haque Inu, Awami League candidate State Minister for Civil Aviation Mahbub Ali, Awami League nominated candidate in the Manikganj-2 seat Momtaz Begum are some of those giants who failed to win. According to unofficial result, the majority of these heavyweight candidates were defeated by independent candidates with political affiliations to the Awami League who were denied party's nomination. The polling that began at 8:00 am concluded at 4pm without any break amid tight security in 299 out of the country’s 300 constituencies. The counting of votes started immediately after the end of voting. Read more: Celebrity candidates who failed to shine at the 12th National Election Voting was postponed in three polling centers due to violence, capturing of polling stations and ballot stuffing. UNB correspondents from Dhaka and different districts including Dinajpur, Chattogram, Bhola, Chapainawabganj and Khulna reported low voter turnout in the morning. Lower-than-expected voter turnout was also observed in Cumilla, Bagerhat, Barishal and Habiganj in the first half of the election day. Read more: Election 2024: Former BNP vice chairman Shahjahan Omar wins from Jhalakathi-1