Dhaka, Feb. 13 -- Nearly 150,000 ballots across Gazipur's five constituencies have been declared invalid.

These include both parliamentary and referendum ballots, though the cancellation rate for the referendum has been significantly higher.

Official records show that the highest number of referendum ballots cancelled in a single seat was approximately 31,500.

These cancellations have raised eyebrows among local political observers.

Election results published early Friday showed that BNP candidates won four of the five Gazipur seats, while the other was taken by a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate.

Election officials stated that ballots that were not marked or signed were declared invalid.

According to the declared results, a total of 140,8...