EC revises referendum results: ‘Yes’ down by 9.7 lakh, ‘No’ down by 1.1 lakh
The Election Commission has officially revised the results of the national referendum held on February 12 to approve the implementation of the ‘July National Charter’, reducing both ‘yes’ 9.7 lakh and ‘no’ votes by 1.1 lakh.
The revision was disclosed in an additional gazette issued on Thursday, signed by EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.
The referendum, formally titled the ‘July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, 2025’, sought public consent for constitutional reforms following the sweeping student-public uprising of July-August 2024, which demanded greater accountability, citizen rights, and structural reforms in governance.
The vote was widely regarded as a historic step, allowing the public to exercise sovereign power directly.
The initial gazette, published on February 13, reported 4.866 crore ‘yes’ votes and 2.271 crore ‘no’ votes, with a total of 7.76 crore votes cast. Of these, 7.42 crore votes were cancelled, leaving 7.27 crore valid votes.
According to the revised gazette, the number of ‘yes’ votes now stands at 4.70 crore, while ‘no’ votes have decreased to 2.196 crore. Total votes cast, including both ‘yes’ and ‘no’, now amount to 7.66 crore, with 7.435 crore votes cancelled, bringing the total valid votes down to 6.91 crore.
In comparison to the earlier count, the revision shows a decrease of 9,74,680 ‘yes’ votes and 1,11,495 ‘no’ votes. At the same time, invalid votes have increased by 12,559, leading to an overall drop of 1.073 crore votes.
Officials have not provided detailed explanations for the adjustments, though they stressed that the revisions were part of routine verification and correction processes to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the referendum outcome.
The EC emphasised that the revised figures now constitute the official record for the vote, which will form the basis for implementing the constitutional changes approved by the public.
Political analysts say the revision, while not altering the overall outcome, highlights the meticulous scrutiny by the EC in processing such a historic referendum.
The referendum has been hailed as a landmark in Bangladesh’s democratic history, enabling citizens to participate directly in shaping constitutional reforms. The revised results underscore the Election Commission’s commitment to maintaining accuracy in the nation’s most important electoral processes.