EC declares 42,779 polling centres smoking-free

The Election Commission, EC, has directed that all 42,779 polling centres for the 13th national parliamentary election and referendum be kept smoke-free. Letters in this regard have already been sent to all returning officers.

EC senior assistant secretary Shahidul Islam confirmed the matter on Friday.

In the letter, the commission said it had decided to ensure that polling centres are declared smoke-free areas during voting for the 13th national parliamentary election scheduled for February 12, and instructed the authorities concerned to take necessary measures accordingly.

According to the latest EC data, the total number of polling centres stands at 42,779, while the number of polling booths is 247,482. On average, one polling centre has been designated for every 3,000 voters.

The EC also said a total of 785,225 officials will be engaged in conducting the election on the day. Of them, 42,779 will serve as presiding officers, 247,482 as assistant presiding officers and 494,964 as polling officers.

EC senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the number of polling booths and centres has increased this time as two votes will be held on the same day, adding that ballot counting may take longer than usual.

At present, the total number of registered voters in the country is 127,711,739. Among them, 64,825,361 are male voters, 62,885,200 female voters and 1,232 voters from the hijra community.

In the 12th national parliamentary election, there were around 44,000 polling centres. The 11th parliamentary election had more than 40,000 polling centres with over 200,000 polling booths. The 10th parliamentary election had 37,707 polling centres and 189,078 booths, while the 9th parliamentary election had 35,263 polling centres and 177,277 booths.