The second phase of the country’s sixth upazila parishad election is going to be held today (Tuesday) with the balloting in 156 different districts in the country.
The votes will be cast from 8:00am to 4:00pm without any recess.
Some 1,824 candidates, including 603 chairman contenders are in the electoral race in the 156 upazila parishads, against a total of 468 posts –-chairman post, vice chairman and women vice chairman posts in each upazila. More than 3.52 crore voters – 1,79,05,464 males, 1,72,99,047 females and 237 transgender persons — are registered under 13,016 polling stations in the 156 upazilas, according to the factsheet provided by the Election Commission on Sunday.
Among them, the electronic voting machines will be used at 24 upazilas in nine districts, while the traditional ballot papers in the rest upazilas.
On 2 April, the Election Commission announced the election schedule for 161 upazila parishads in the second phase. But all the candidates in two upazilas – Cumilla Adarsha Sadar and Raozan in Chattogram– have already been elected uncontested, finding no rival contestant for their respective posts. Besides, the elections to five other upazilas were postponed on different grounds, but two upazilas were included afresh for the second phase.
The polls to Babuganj, Wazirpur and Banaripara upazilas in Barishal district were deferred to the 4th phase, but Muladi and Hizla upazilas in Barishal were incorporated in the second phase.
The elections to Moulvibazar Sadar upazila and Ruma upazila in Bandarban were postponed due to administrative reasons and legal complexities respectively.
A security team of 17-19 members would guard each polling station in the plain districts, while a security team of 19-21 members would protect a polling station in the Chittagong hill tracts and very remote areas.
This time, the Election Commission is arranging the sixth upazila parishad election in four phases. The commission has already declared the election schedule to hold polls in some 480 upazilas out of the country’s 495 upazilas.
The first phase election was held in 139 upazila parishads of 59 districts on 8 May last.
The third phase election will be held in some 110 Upazilas on 29 May and 4th phase polls more than 50 upazilas on 5 June.
