TDS Desk:

The Election Commission (EC) has significantly revised the results of the February 12 referendum on the post-2024 student uprising constitutional reform, known as the “July National Charter,” reducing both vote totals and overall turnout.

The updated figures were published in an additional gazette signed by Akhtar Ahmed, Senior Secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat, on Thursday (February 26). The referendum was held to seek public approval for the “July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, 2025,” which aims to amend the Constitution in line with what authorities described as the sovereign will expressed during the July–August 2024 student uprising. The original results were published in a gazette on February 13.

According to the initial gazette, the number of ‘yes’ votes stood at 48,200,660, while ‘no’ votes totaled 22,710,726. The total votes cast were reported at 77,695,023. Of these, 4,722,637 ballots were declared invalid, leaving 72,972,386 valid votes.

Under the revised gazette, the ‘yes’ votes have been reduced to 47,225,980 and ‘no’ votes to 21,960,231. The total votes cast now stand at 76,621,407. The number of invalid ballots has increased to 4,735,196, while the total valid votes have fallen to 69,186,211.

An analysis of the revised results shows that ‘yes’ votes decreased by 974,680 and ‘no’ votes declined by 111,495 compared to the previously announced figures. Overall turnout dropped by 1,073,616 votes, while the number of invalid ballots rose by 12,559. The Election Commission has not provided a detailed explanation for the changes in the updated gazette.