Many Return Home For Not Matching Fingerprints

Many voters in the Mymensingh City Corporation were seen leaving centres without casting their votes as their fingerprints did not match in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The reporters found similar situations in at least five centres since morning.

From the source of media it’s reported that a local voter Dipak Chandra Das, 102, took ten minutes and tried twenty times to match the fingerprint in the EVM machine at Nasirabad Girls' High School centre, but he was unable to cast his vote. His fingerprints did not match, even after rubbing his fingers repeatedly with Hexisol. Afterwards, the presiding officer was informed and the assistant presiding officer kept him seated.

The presiding officer asked him to come to the centre in the afternoon. However, the poll workers at the booth objected. They said that the area's oldest voter cannot leave without casting vote. Later, Dipak cast his vote using the presiding officer's fingerprint. Election Commission has empowered the presiding officer or the assistant presiding officer to allow up to 1 percent voters of a centre to vote in case of fingerprint mismatch.

Two persons had to leave one of the booths at the polling centre without voting since morning as their fingerprints did not match, according to the authority.

They were requested to come again after midday, he said. Abhimanyu Roy, assistant presiding officer of booth number 1 of the same centre, said that at least three individuals were sent back from his booth.

A number of female voters were also seen leaving Premier Ideal School centre without casting their ballots. Numerous voters were unable to cast ballots using electronic voting machines, according to Ekramul Haque Titu, the former mayor of the city corporation.