Voting underway for Gazipur City polls

Voting is underway in the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) elections, an election of prestige for both the Awami League and the BNP as it is being held just six months before the parliamentary polls. 

Starting at 8:00am, the voting will continue till 4:00pm without any break at 425 polling stations in 57 wards across the city corporation area.

Voters were seen in long queues at different polling centres in the city, waiting for their turn to cast their votes.

Also, general holiday has been announced for today in the city corporation area and all factories and industries, including garments, in the area will remain closed on the day.

This is the country's largest city corporation, comprising parts of Gazipur-1, 2 and 5 parliamentary constituencies.

Gazipur is often considered a traditional AL bastion as the party fared well in all the national polls here since 1991. However, BNP won here in the last city corporation elections and stunned all.

According to Returning Officer’s office, a total of 345 candidates, including seven for mayoral post, 254 for councilor posts, 83 for reserved posts for women, are vying in the polls while 11,37,736 voters will exercise their franchises.

The mayor candidates are: ruling Awami League nominated Md Jahangir Alam, BNP nominated Hasan Uddin Sarker, Islami Oikkya Jote nominated Fazlur Rahman (Minar), Islami Andolan Bangladesh nominated Md Nasir Uddin, Bangladesh Islami Front nominated Md Jalal Uddin, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) nominated Md Ruhul Amin and independent candidate Farid Ahmed.

Three-tier security measures have been taken to ensure security during the election. About 10,500 members of law enforcement agencies, including police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Ansar, have already been deployed in the city corporation area.

A total of 29 platoons of BGB, 58 teams of RAB, 57 mobile forces and 20 striking forces of police will perform their duties during the elections.
The election poses a major challenge for the Election Commission after it drew a lot of flak over its role in the Khulna City Corporation polls last month.

For the first time the EC has taken an initiative to take immediate steps to prevent untoward incidents during the voting. The presiding officers will inform the EC Secretariat about overall situation of their respective voting centres through SMS in every two hours. The commission will take necessary measures on the basis of presiding officers’ SMS immediately, BSS reports quoting EC sources.

Besides, EC teams in plainclothes will monitor the polling situation and activities of the election officials at every station. They would interfere in the polls immediately, inform the Returning Officer (RO) and inform the EC, if any irregularities take place in the polling stations.
The EC has also decided to use electronic voting machines at six polling stations in the election.

Gazipur district Deputy Commissioner Dr Dewan Mohammad Humayun Kabir told BSS that a total of 67 executive magistrates and 19 judicial magistrates will perform duties across the city corporation area from June 24 to 27.

source:thedailystar