Campaign ends, vote tomorrow

The second phase of the sixth upazila parishad elections will be held in 157 upazilas tomorrow amid fears of violence and a boycott by the BNP.

Allegations of conflict, threats, violations of the electoral code of conduct, and the influence of parliamentarians were reported in several places during the campaign.

Candidates were seen making hectic efforts on the last day of electioneering, which ended at midnight on Sunday.

Chairman, vice-chairman, and reserved vice-chairman candidates spent busy times in their last-minute efforts to woo voters.

The Election Commission (EC) has made all necessary preparations to hold the elections in a free and fair manner.

However, there are fears of violence as several candidates of the ruling Awami League are vying for different posts, including that of the chairman, in almost all upazilas.

So far, seventeen family members of ministers and parliamentarians are competing for the post of chairman in the elections.

Election Commissioner Md Alamgir attributed the low turnout in the first phase of the upazila parishad elections to the major party BNP, which has boycotted the polls.

Moreover, another reason for the low turnout is voters’ unwillingness to leave their workplaces during local body elections, the EC commissioner said while speaking to reporters at the EC secretariat on Sunday.

In the second phase, the polling will start at 8am and continue until 4pm without any breaks.

The ballot paper will be sent to 12,323 polling stations on voting day, and the ballot paper will be sent to 697 polling stations the day before.

A total of 1,824 candidates are participating in the elections: 603 for chairman, 693 for vice-chairman and 528 for reserved vice-chairman posts.

A total of seven chairmen, eight vice-chairmen and seven reserved vice-chairmen candidates were elected unopposed.

All of the candidates from Raozan and Comilla Adarsha Sadar upazilas were elected unopposed.

About 3,52,04,748 voters will cast their votes in the elections.

A total of 17 personnel, including three armed members of the police and one or two armed members of Ansar, will guard each general polling centre, while the total number of law enforcement officers will increase to 18/19 in key polling stations.

A total of 19 personnel, eight armed personnel, will guard each regular polling centre in remote areas, while 20/21 personnel will stand guard at the high-risk polling stations.

A total of 458 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will be deployed as mobile and striking forces. A total of 89,863 police members will be deployed, of them 47,829 at the polling centres, 13,490 on the mobile team, and 5,567 in the striking forces.

A total of 2,768 members of RAB will be deployed as mobile and striking forces, and 1,93,287 members of Ansar VDP will be deployed to the polling centres as mobile and striking forces, according to the EC.

A total of 157 executive magistrates will be deployed during the polls.

According to the EC, the 6th upazila parishad elections will be held in 476 upazila in four phases.