DHAKA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Results of Bangladesh's 13th general election and referendum, slated to be held on Feb. 12, are expected to be announced by the following day, a senior election official said on Monday.
Dismissing widespread speculation that the simultaneous holding of both the parliamentary polls and the referendum could delay the declaration of results, Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar told journalists in Dhaka that the results will be announced on Friday.
While expressing confidence in the electoral process, the commissioner acknowledged that minor delays might occur in a few remote polling centers, but stressed these would not impact the overall timeline.
Addressing the commission's preparedness, Sarkar said, "Whatever concerns there were regarding the election, we've overcome them with everyone's cooperation. We'll be able to present a free, fair and acceptable election on Thursday."
Bangladesh's Election Commission is overseeing one of the world's largest electoral exercises, tasked with managing a voter population of approximately 170 million.
The vote will be conducted through nearly 250,000 polling booths, distributed across over 42,000 polling centers in all 64 districts of the country. ■