The by-elections to three constituencies -- Dhaka-10, Bagerhat-4 and Gaibandha-3 – will be held today (Saturday) amid the growing fear over the spread of coronavirus in the country. The voting will start at 9am and end till 5pm at a stretch. Election Commission (EC) officials said, all necessary measure have been taken and polls materials reached the voting centres.
Poling and presiding officials as well as security personnel from police Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Ansar and VDP have been posted, they added. Besides, mobile courts will remain deployed to thwart any untoward incident at the polls-stations. According to the EC officials, voting at Dhaka-10 constituency will be conducted through the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) while paper ballots will be used at rest two seats.
In the Dhaka-10, six candidates are contesting from different parties. Of them, Md Shafiul Islam is contesting from ruling Awami League, Rabiul Alam from BNP, Md Shahjahan from Jatiya Party, Mizanur Rahman from Bangladesh Congress, Nabab Khaza Ali Hasan Askari from Bangladesh Muslim League and Abdur Rahim from Pragotishil Gonotantrik Dal.
In the Bagerhat-4, Advocate Amirul Islam is running the race from ruling Awami League while Sajon Kumer Mistri from the Jatiya Party while BNP fielded no candidate. The number of total voter in this constituency is 3,16,510. Of them, 1,58,791 are males and the rest 1,57,719 are females.
In Gaibandha-3, four candidates are contesting from different parties. Of them, Advocate Umme Kulsum is contesting from ruling Awami League, Professor Dr Syed Mynul Hasan Sadiq from BNP, Mainur Rabbi Chowdhury from Jatiya Party and SM Khademul Islam from Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal.
Movement of motorbikes in the voting areas will remain banned for 72 hours, beginning from 12:00am Friday. However, experts and EC officials said presence of voters might be very low due to fear over coronavirus outbreak. BNP and others parties called for postponement due to public health concern.
However, the EC said it would hold the elections on Saturday, March 21, as per the schedules. The EC said it would make necessary hand sanitizers available at the polls centers to ensure safety to voters’ health. EVMS would be cleaned by the sanitizers before and after the casing of votes. The EC also advised voters suffering from cold-related diseases not to vote.
