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DHAKA, Jan 26, 2026 (BSS) - The Election Commission (EC) has asked the authorities concerned to count votes at the polling centres and send reports to the Returning Officers, according to a circular issued by the EC on Saturday.

In the circular, the EC has given a set of instructions regarding counting of votes, sending of counting reports, announcement of unofficial results and collection and distribution of the results.
 
The EC circular signed by Mohammad Monir Hossain, Deputy Secretary (Election Management-2 Branch) was issued on Saturday ahead of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad polls and referendum slated to be held on February 12,
  
The circular stated that the instructions of the EC must be followed at every stage starting from the end of the polling on the election day to the announcement of results.

The EC further stated that as soon as the voting is over, the Presiding Officer must complete the vote counting in accordance with the rules in front of the contesting candidates, their polling agents, election observers and media personnel present at the polling centres. 

Under any circumstances, the vote counting could not be carried out anywhere outside the polling centre, the circular said adding after the vote counting, the report must be displayed on the notice board, wall or fence of the polling station.

Immediately after the vote counting is completed, the Presiding Officer must send all the necessary documents, including the sealed packets of the used ballots, the vote counting report, the ballot paper account statement to the Returning Officer through the Assistant Returning Officer with the help of the law enforcement agencies.

The Returning Officer will consolidate the results of each constituency in line with the Representation of the People Order (RPO). Prior to that, the contesting candidates and their polling agents must be informed about the place and time of the results consolidation process through a written notice. 

As per law, the results will be consolidated in front of the candidates and agents present on the appointed time and day. 

The general polling centre result report (Form-16) and the postal ballot result report (Form-16A) will be added together to prepare the final results. It has been instructed to complete this process as soon as possible after the polling.

As the polling is over, the initial unofficial results will be collected by the EC. To this end, an ‘Election Results Collection and Presentation Centre’ will be set up at the EC Secretariat. 

Similar centres will be set up at the Returning Officer’s office. These centers will be open from the morning of the polling day until the final results reach the EC Secretariat, the circular said. 

In addition, reports on the conditions of the polling centres and constituencies will be collected and reported to the Commission.

During the unofficial results, the Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officer have been instructed to invite the rival candidates or their election agents, party representatives and the presidents and general secretaries of the local press club and bar association or their representatives to the results collection and presentation centre.