Sylhet is fully prepared for the 13th national parliamentary election, with voting set to begin Thursday, 12 February, morning. More than 2.9 million voters are expected to cast their ballots at 1,016 polling centres across the district.
Polling will run uninterrupted from 7:30am to 4:30pm. By Wednesday, 11 February, afternoon, authorities had already delivered election materials to all centres in the six constituencies, officials said.
A total of 33 candidates are contesting from Sylhet’s six parliamentary seats. Among them, eight candidates are vying for Sylhet-1 (City–Sadar), five for Sylhet-2 (Bishwanath–Osmaninagar), six for Sylhet-3 (South Surma–Fenchuganj–Balaganj), five for Sylhet-4 (Jaintiapur–Gowainghat–Companiganj), four for Sylhet-5 (Zakiganj–Kanaighat), and five for Sylhet-6 (Golapganj–Beanibazar).
Sylhet-1 has the highest number of voters, with 674,171 registered electors, including over 349,000 men and about 324,000 women. Sylhet-2 has 364,799 voters, while Sylhet-3 counts 429,774. In Sylhet-4, the electorate stands at 502,652, followed by 409,956 in Sylhet-5 and 489,449 in Sylhet-6.
Election officials and members of law enforcement agencies have already reached their assigned polling stations. Authorities say a five-tier security arrangement has been put in place to ensure a peaceful and festive voting environment. Armed Ansar members and police will guard polling centres, while the army will serve as a striking force alongside other security personnel.