2nd Phase Of UZ Polls Voting In 156 Upazilas Underway

Polling for the second phase of the Sixth Upazila Parishad election voting is commenced. Today, Tuesday (May 21), the polling began at 08:00 am in 156 upazilas of the country which will continue till 4:00 pm.

Meanwhile, voters of 156 upazilas have started exercising their voting rights to choose their representatives in the second phase of the sixth upazila elections. A general holiday has been declared and traffic restrictions have been imposed in election-related upazilas.

Out of 156 upazilas, 24 upazilas will vote on EVMs and in the rest, ballot papers will be used. In the second phase, after the announcement of the election schedule for 161 upazilas, voting was suspended in 5 upazilas for various reasons.

On Monday (May 20), the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat sent a letter to the concerned parties confirming the matter.

Election experts attribute fears of another potential low turnout to a general apathy towards the electoral process, as evidenced by the 36 percent voter turnout in the first phase of upazila polls on May 8, the lowest since 2009, when it was 70.57 percent.

The battle of ballots will take place among the independents, mostly from the ruling Awami League, as other political parties have not fielded any candidates.

Meanwhile the BNP, among other parties, is staying away from the polls, as it did in the January 7 election, saying that the incumbent Election Commission is not capable of holding the elections for local government bodies in a free and fair manner.