15-20% votes cast in first 4 hours of Upazila Parishad polls: EC
Some 1,630 candidates, including nearly 570 chairman contenders, are in the electoral race in the 139 upazila parishads against a total of 417 posts – chairman post, vice chairman and women vice chairman posts in each upazila
Voter turnout was low as 15-20% votes were cast in the first four hours of polling in the first phase of the country's sixth Upazila Parishad elections today (8 May).
Due to rain, the voters did not turn up till noon, but the commission is expecting that the turnout will increase as the afternoon progresses, Election Commissioner Secretary Jahangir Alam told reporters at a briefing in Agargaon's Election Building.
The commission has not yet received any report of disruptions during this period, EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath told reporters around 11:00am this morning.
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The polls are currently underway in 139 upazilas of 59 districts in the country.
The voting started at 8am and will continue until 4pm. Voter turnout was low this morning due to rain in two upazilas of Barishal and two upazilas of Lakshmipur.
Some 1,630 candidates, including nearly 570 chairman contenders, are in the electoral race in the 139 upazilas against a total of 417 posts – chairman post, vice chairman, and women vice chairman posts in each.
In the 139 upazilas, 22 are using electronic voting machines (EVMs) while the rest are using ballot papers.
Here are the latest updates on the polling.
3:00pm
2 held in Chuadanga for preventing voters from entering polling station
Police have arrested two people for their involvement in the incident of blocking voters from entering polling stations in Chuadanga's Damurhuda and Jibannagar upazilas.
The detained are Sakhawat Hossain of Katapol village of Jibannagar upazila and Abu Siddique, member of Ward No. 2 of Kuralgachi Union of Damurhuda upazila.
Assistant Superintendent of Damurhuda-Jibannagar Circle Zakia Sultana said Damurhuda Kuralgachi UP member Abu Siddique is working for the pineapple symbol candidate Ali Munsur Babu. When polling began in the morning, he exerted influence and prevented voters from entering the Chandipur Government Primary School Centre. The police arrested him in this incident. Later, he was sentenced to seven days imprisonment by the judge of the mobile court Assistant Commissioner Saiful Islam Saif.
Sakhawat Hossain, a supporter of chairman candidate Hafizur Rahman of cup-pearl symbol, prevented the voters from entering Katapol Government Primary School center of Jibannagar upazila. In this incident, the police arrested him and took him to Jibannagar police station.
2:30pm
15-20% votes cast in first 4 hours of Upazila Parishad polls: EC
Voter turnout was low as 15-20% votes were cast in the first four hours of polling in the first phase of the country's sixth Upazila Parishad elections today (8 May).
Due to rain, the voters did not turn up till noon, but the commission is expecting that the turnout will increase as the afternoon progresses, Election Commissioner Secretary Jahangir Alam told reporters at a briefing in Agargaon's Election Building.
Jahangir Alam said, "The voting rate is different in each region till noon. As a result, it is not possible to say exactly what percent of votes have been cast. An average of 15 to 20 % votes were cast so far in different regions."
The secretary said he will get the actual number later in the day.
The EC secretary further said the law and order forces have taken strict action in regions where there have been two isolated incidents.
The presiding officer has been detained for helping illegal voting at a polling station in Bogura, he mentioned.
"The polling process has been suspended due to commotion outside a polling station in Lakshmipur upazila of Khagrachari. Except that, polling has not been stopped anywhere."
Regarding the low voter turnout, he said, "It rained in some places this morning. There was no electricity. As a result, there were fewer voters than we expected till noon."
He further said, "We were worried that Electronic Voting Machines [EVM] might malfunction in the areas where it's being used. But there was no delay in voting with EVMs anywhere."
Security is tight, with teams of 17-19 personnel guarding each polling station in the plains and 19-21 in the Chattogram Hill Tracts and remote areas. The elections are occurring in approximately 10,400 polling stations nationwide.
After adjustments in the election schedule due to uncontested winners in five upazilas and postponements in eight, the Election Commission organised the polls in four phases. The subsequent phases will cover additional upazilas on 21 May, 29 May, and 5 June.
1:50pm
7-8% votes cast in first 2 hours of upazila polls: EC
Voter turnout was low as 7-8% votes were cast in the first two hours of polling in the first phase of the country's sixth Upazila Parishad elections today (8 May).
The Election Commission (EC) has not yet received any report of disruptions during this period, EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath told reporters around 11:00am this morning.
"Peaceful voting is taking place everywhere. We have not yet received any information of any disruptions or irregularities," said EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath
"I have received information that the voter turnout is low."
A law and order monitoring cell is working to centrally monitor the polling situation at the Election Building in Agargaon.
1:40pm
Voters start coming to polling centres in Barishal as rain abate
In North Lamchari Government Primary School Centre of Charbaria union of Barishal Sadar 170 votes were cast in the first hour, 342 votes in the second hour and 573 votes in the third hour. The total number of voters in this center is 2,823, said Presiding Officer Neyamul Karim Barkat.
He said, as the day progressed, voter turnout was ver low due to rain, but it is increasing as the sun rays shone through the clouds.
Voter turnout was increasing only in this centre but also 14 centers of Sadar Upazila. In these centres, the number of female voters is higher than male voters.
In Habinagar Government Primary School center of Shaistabad union of Barishal Sadar upazila over 9% vote was cast till 10am. Presiding officer of this center Nasir Uddin said 190 voters cast their vote in two hours out of 2,101 voters.
On the other hand, Nazrul Islam, presiding officer of Mozammel Hossain High School (Female Voter Center) of the same union said after the rain, 22 votes were cast in the first hour, but six votes were cast in the second hour. Out of 2,413 voters, 146 votes were cast in this center by 10 am, he added.
12:50pm
3 Cox's Bazar upazilas report 10-15% ballots cast till mid-day
In the first phase of the Sixth Upazila Parishad election announced by the Election Commission, three upazilas of Cox's Bazar went to the polls today (8 May) amid rainy weather in the district. Voting is being held in 205 centres across Cox's Bazar Sadar, Kutubdia, and Maheshkhali upazilas using electronic voting machines (EVMs).
According to Cox's Bazar District Election Officer Mohammad Nazim Uddin, an average of 10-15% of votes were cast by 12:30pm.
He said the rain might have affected voter arrivals at the polling centres, but attendance improved as the day progressed.
While the overall election day environment was reportedly calm, there were allegations that the District Puja Udjapan Parishad General Secretary Bentu Dash, a supporter of Sadar upazila Chairman candidate and district Awami League former member Nurul Absar, was allegedly assaulted by the supporters of another chairman candidate.
Nurul Absar's agent, Mayor Md Mahabubur Rahman Chowdhury, claimed that Cox's Bazar Municipal Panel Mayor Salah Uddin Setu, who supports Cox's Bazar District Awami League General Secretary Mujibur Rahman, beat up Bentu Dash without any reason at Cox's Bazar Municipal Preparatory High School centre around 9:30am.
Later, police and BGB officials intervened to bring the situation under control.
Salah Uddin Setu denied the allegations and said people led by the mayor tried to incite chaos in the centre, which resulted in a skirmish.
Despite these isolated incidents, Election Officer Mohammad Nazim Uddin asserted that voting across the three upazilas has been peaceful, with law enforcement swiftly addressing minor disturbances.
Cox's Bazar Police Super Mahafuzul Islam said approximately 4,000 police and Ansar members, alongside RAB and BGB personnel, were deployed across these upazilas to ensure security and a peaceful environment.
Meanwhile, Cox's Bazar experienced light to moderate rain since morning. According to Cox's Bazar Meteorological Office, 6mm of rainfall was recorded between 6am and 12pm, with temperatures ranging between 28-29 degrees Celsius.
11:30am
Most polling stations in Gajaria, Munshiganj, declared vulnerable, security forces on high alert
Polling began in 60 polling stations of 8 unions of Gajaria upazila of Munshiganj. There are 147,246 voters (75,946 male and 71,300 female) in the upazila.
Upazila Election Officer and Returning Officer Md Liton Mia said the Election Commission is ready to provide a fair and impartial participatory election. As most of the centres were declared vulnerable, law and order forces have taken maximum measures for the safety of voters to increase the presence of voters in polling stations.
Security surrounding these centres have been also intensified with Ansar, Police, Border Guard Bangladesh and Rapid Action Battalion forces along with executive magistrate teams.
In this year's Upazila Parishad elections, four candidates are contesting for the post of chairman in under different symbols, besides there are eight candidates for the post of vice chairman and female vice chairman.
Since morning, women and men voters are seen appearing in every center stop by stop. Voting is being held in a festive atmosphere as there are multiple independent candidates.
11:10am
Kustia polling centers almost deserted
Sadar and Khoksa upazila in Kushtia district went to polls today in the first phase of the sixth Upazila Parishad Elections.
Although no untoward incidents were reported in these upazilas, voter turnout has been notably low since polling commenced this morning.
Candidates vying for positions in the elections said they hope to see an increase in voter participation as the day progressed.
They also expressed optimism about winning if the election environment remained free and fair.
In Sadar upazila, encompassing one municipality and 13 unions, the total voter count stands at 421,073 across 145 polling stations. On the other hand, in Khoksa upazila, comprising one municipality and nine unions, there are 115,089 registered voters distributed among 50 polling centers.
10:40am
Only a handfull of voters show up in Cumilla's Laksam
No lines of voters were seen outside Norpati Govt Primary School in Laksam upazila of Cumilla.
Only five-six people of the age group 18-19 were seen waiting at the polling centre.
They were waiting outside the centre with a badge of a candidate, did not entre to cast their vote. When asked about the reason, they said, "If we go inside, the voting centre will look empty.
"You [journalists] please edit the photos and show there are many people outside the voting centre."
9:40am
92-year-old woman casts vote in Rajshahi
92-year-old Uzufa Beowa cast her vote in Biyanabona centre of Rajshahi's Godagari upazila.
"We are happy to be able to cast our votes. The person I voted for will win," said Uzufa, moving outside the centre with a walking stick.
The west centre of Godagari Government College's Presiding Officer M Mosibul Haque said the number of voters in the center is 2,146. A total of 8% of the voters, 175 people, have voted till 10:00 am.
The north centre of the station saw 8.89% of voters, 203 people, have voted till 10:00am, said Presiding Officer Ashfaq Ali. The number of voters in this centre is 2,281.
9:30am
Rain causes low voter turnout in Barishal, Lakshmipur
Even though the polling began at 8am, voter turnout was visibly low in Barishal Sadar, Bakerganj upazilas in Barishal and Kamalnagar, Ramgati upazilas of Lakshmipur.
Presiding officers of the polling centres said they expect a higher turnout later in the day.
Ramgani and Kamalnagar upazilas of Lakshmipur have a total of 3.84 lakh voters, while the Barishal Sadar and Bakerganj have 4.97 lakh voters.
The polling is being conducted using ballots in the four upazilas.
After visiting three polling stations Barishal - Mahabaj Secondary School, Ulalghuni Govt. Primary School and Sapania Government Primary School - around 9am, it was seen that the presence of voters was comparatively low.
Presiding officers at these centers attributed the inclement weather to the initial turnout and hoped for an increase as the day progressed.
According to the returning officer's office, there are a total of 496,501 voters, including six hijras, across the two upazilas. In Barisal Sadar Upazila, 195,299 voters will cast their ballots in 68 polling stations, while in Bakerganj upazila, 301,202 voters will do so across 113 stations.
Mahabaj Secondary School Presiding Officer Jaber Ahmed said, "Out of 2,395 voters at this center, 75 votes were cast in the first hour. The low turnout is primarily due to rain at the onset of polling, which has now ceased. I hope there will be an increase in voter participation."
"Out of the total 12 candidates, one could not provide any agent. All others have their agents present at the centre," he added.
Nasima Akhter, a voter of Mahabaj Secondary School, said, "Due to rain, I arrived late but was able to cast my vote safely and without any delay."
Another voter, Tara Begum from Ulalghuni Govt. Primary School said, "The election ambiance here is excellent. I voted for three of my favourite candidates. Now I will go back and encourage others in my locality to do the same."
Senior District Returning Officer Wahiduzzaman Munshi said, "Voting is underway in these upazilas in a fair environment. Our aim is to facilitate free, fair, and indisputable elections. Law enforcement authorities are fully empowered to prevent any untoward incidents during the election process."
"We are monitoring all centers round the clock. The executive magistrate's patrol team is also visiting various centres."
Police have identified 66% of polling stations as important, with 47 out of 68 in Barisal Sadar Upazila and 73 out of 113 in Bakerganj. Barisal Metropolitan Police Commissioner Jihadul Islam assured heightened security measures during the election.
Barisal District Superintendent of Police Wahidul Islam said, "600 policemen have been deployed to ensure overall security in Sadar and Bakerganj upazilas. We have doubled our efforts to uphold fairness, with Ansar and RAB also on duty."
