The second phase of polling is going on in 156 upazilas including Naogaon and Bogura.
Daily Bijoy News Naogaon Correspondet:
Voting has started in 156 upazilas of the country in the second phase of upazila parishad elections. In this phase, voting is being done in 24 upazilas through Electronic Voting (EVM) system. Voters are voting in ballots in other upazilas. Voting will begin at 8 am on Tuesday (May 21) and continue till 4 pm. The Election Commission (EC) has already completed the overall preparations for the polling in a fair and peaceful environment. A general holiday has been announced today in the respective upazilas on the occasion of the election. In this phase, more than 3 crore 52 lakh voters will vote in 13 thousand 16 centers. Judicial Magistrates are in the field to fight electoral crimes along with the members of the law and order forces to keep the environment of the polling stations peaceful and undisturbed. In the second phase, the Election Commission has appointed one judicial magistrate in each of the country's 156 upazilas.These magistrates will perform duty in the field for 5 days before and after the election to prevent any kind of irregularities in the election. For the security of polling stations and voters, 17 members of the law enforcement force have been deployed in each general polling station and 18 to 19 members in important polling stations. Two armed policemen are also staying with the magistrates to run the courts in the respective constituencies.
Motorcycle movement has been banned for three days in the respective upazilas. The Election Commission has formed a high-level monitoring cell to facilitate the smooth conduct of the elections. Under the leadership of Brigadier General Abul Hasnat Mohammad Sayem, EC Smart Card (IDEA) Project Director, representatives of various ministries and organizations of the government are working in this cell. On the day before the polls, election equipment including ballot paper has been sent to 697 centers in some remote upazilas. Apart from this, the remaining 12 thousand 323 centers along with the ballot papers were sent on the morning of the polling day. In the second phase of the election, 1 thousand 824 people are competing as final candidates in 156 upazilas. Among them, there are 603 candidates for the post of chairman, 693 for the post of vice chairman, and 528 for the post of female vice chairman. In this election EC first announced the polling schedule in 160 upazilas. Later, the election of four upazilas was postponed due to various reasons including lawsuits. In this phase, voting will be done in 24 upazilas through Electronic Voting (EVM) system. 21 people have been selected in this phase as there are no more competitors.
Among them, there are chairman positions - Comilla Adarsh Sadar Aminul Islam Tutul, Jamalpur Islampur Md. A. Chalam, Faridpur Nagarkanda Md. Wahiduzzaman, AKM Ehchanul Haider Chowdhury in Raujan, Chittagong, Abul Kashem Chishti in Rangunia, Chittagong, Manjurul Alam Rajeev in Savar. And Kamal Hossain of Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila. For the post of Vice Chairman- Shahidul Islam in Bagmara of Rajshahi, Haradhan Karmakar in Rajstali of Rangamati, Ahmed Niaz Pavel in Comilla Adarsh Sadar, Noor Mohammad in Raujan in Chittagong, Rafiqul Islam in Arai Hazare in Narayanganj, Suman in Hajiganj in Chandpur and Mizanur Rahman in Rupganj. Apart from this, Gautami Khiang in Rajstali of Rangamati, Saida Sultana in Kasba in Brahmanbaria, Hosne Ara Begum in Comilla Adarsh Sadar, Rubina Yachmin Ruji in Raujan in Chittagong, Hosne Ara Begum in Rangunia in Chittagong, Shahida Mosharof in Arai Hazare in Narayanganj and Ferdousi Akter in Rupganj were elected unopposed. Before this, the first phase of upazila elections was held on May 8. In that phase, polling was conducted in 139 upazilas. In the third phase, polling in 111 upazilas will be held on May 29. The polling in 55 upazilas of the fourth phase will be held on June 5.
Daily Bijoy News/ Ujjal Kumar Sarkar
