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Ballot raid halts voting in Cumilla, 38 papers voided

Friday, 13 February 2026


Voting in Cumilla-10 was halted for 90 minutes after a group stormed a polling centre in Lalmai and tried to "seize" ballots to seal for a specific symbol, reports bdnews24.com.
The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at Chouddadona Government Primary School, said Presiding Officer Md Amzad Hossain.
Officials recovered 38 stamped ballots, all declared invalid. None were inserted into ballot boxes.
Police restored order, and voting resumed at 03:00 pm after being suspended from 01:30pm.
"A group of people suddenly entered the centre and forcibly went into three rooms, attempting to snatch ballot papers," said Amzad. He confirmed that the group did not succeed in putting any stamped ballots into the boxes.
He said 38 sealed ballots were declared invalid. Regarding the identities of those involved, he said they were outsiders, and it was not possible to identify any of the attackers.
Lalmai Upazila's Assistant Returning Officer Umme Tahmina said three people have been arrested in connection with the incident.