Live updates: Voting begins in Bangladesh’s parliamentary election, referendum

Long queues of voters were seen from as early as 6:00am at polling centre at the Monipur High School in Shewrapara.

Residents arrived soon after morning prayers to cast their ballots.

Md Nasiruddin, 36, a resident of Monipur Kathaltala, said he wanted to vote before everyone else. “I wished to cast my vote first, so I came from home and stood in the line early,” he told The Daily Star.

After 7:00am, the queues swelled rapidly. By 7:15am, nearly a hundred male and female voters were waiting in two separate lines to enter the centres. At around the same time, polling agents of different candidates arrived and took their positions inside.

The scene in front of Motijheel Ideal School and College was one of quiet anticipation, with voters assembling well before the official start of polling. Several elderly and physically challenged voters were given priority. One of them, Sirajuddoula, who has difficulty walking, was allowed to sit at the front of the queue.

By around 6:45am, voters had begun lining up steadily. Among the early arrivals was Md Ismail Hossain, who joined a small queue of nine people, the first two dressed in traditional panjabi and prayer caps.

The institution falls under Dhaka-15 constituency and has four polling centres -- numbered 22, 23, 24 and 25.

Voting officially began at 7:30am, with voters entering the centres in an orderly manner under the supervision of election officials.