Voting in second phase of upazila election going on

Voting is underway in 156 upazilas in the second phase of the sixth Upazila Parishad elections on Tuesday (May 21).

Election officials said that the polling started 8:00am in more than 13,000 centers in these upazilas, which will continue till 4:00pm.

Ballot papers were delivered to 697 centres in remote areas on Monday. Ballot papers reached the remaining 12,323 centres before voting began on Tuesday morning.

The Election Commission hopes that if the polls are held in a peaceful environment and favorable weather, the voter turnout will increase than the first phase of UP election which was 36.1 percent.

The EC has ordered the administration and the police to be alert for peaceful polling. Election officials have been instructed to stop the polls in any centre if there is any kind of irregularity.

Election Commissioner Md Alamgir said that a large number of law enforcing personnel have been deployed to ensure the smooth completion of the second phase of polling.

On May 8, 36.1% voted for the post of chairman in the first phase of voting in 139 upazilas. In most cases the local leaders of Awami League have been elected as the chairman.

In the sixth UP polls, voting is being held in four phases in 485 upazilas out of the total 495 upazilas of the country. Later, the election commission will organize the polls in the rest of the upazilas once the period expires.

Voting is scheduled for the third phase on May 29 and the fourth phase on June 5.