Originally posted in Daily Observer on 28 January 2026
The Election Commission of Bangladesh has revised the results of the referendum held on implementation of the July National Charter, reducing the overall vote count by around 11 lakh from the figures published in the gazette the day after polling.
According to the corrected gazette published on Thursday, the number of ‘Yes’ votes has decreased by nearly 10 lakh, while ‘No’ votes have dropped by slightly more than 1 lakh. Excluding rejected ballots, the total number of valid votes now stands at 6 crore 91 lakh 86 thousand 211.
The referendum was held on February 12 alongside voting in 299 constituencies for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election, seeking public consent to implement 48 constitutional reform proposals incorporated in the July Charter. The Sherpur-3 constituency was excluded due to the death of a candidate. A total of 12 crore 72 lakh 98 thousand 416 voters were registered for the election and referendum.
Separate gazettes for the parliamentary election and the referendum results were published on February 13. According to the initial results, 7 crore 76 lakh 95 thousand 23 voters (61.03 percent) had cast their ballots. Of them, 74 lakh 22 thousand 637 votes were declared invalid.
Out of 7 crore 27 lakh 2 thousand 386 valid votes, 4 crore 88 lakh 20 thousand 660 (68.59 percent) were in favour (‘Yes’), while 2 crore 20 lakh 71 thousand 726 (31.41 percent) voted against (‘No’).
However, the revised gazette shows that 4 crore 72 lakh 25 thousand 980 ‘Yes’ votes and 2 crore 19 lakh 60 thousand 231 ‘No’ votes were cast. Combined, the total number of votes cast now stands at 7 crore 66 lakh 21 thousand 407. Of these, 74 lakh 35 thousand 196 votes were rejected, leaving 6 crore 91 lakh 86 thousand 211 valid votes.
Compared to the earlier figures, ‘Yes’ votes have decreased by 9 lakh 74 thousand 680, while ‘No’ votes have declined by 1 lakh 11 thousand 495. The number of rejected ballots has increased by 12 thousand 559, and the total votes cast have dropped by 10 lakh 73 thousand 616.
