All preparation completed, GCC polls tomorrow
Published : 25 Jun 2018, 13:16
The Election Commission (EC) has completed all necessary preparations to hold Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) election in a free and fair manner. The EC is all set to hold the high-voltage polls on Tuesday.
The polls will open at 8 am and will close at 4 pm without any break. A total of 11 lakh voters are expected to cast their votes at 425 polling centers in the polls.
Earlier, campaigning in the election to GCC ended on Sunday midnight. Mayoral and councilor candidates carried out their hectic electioneering on the last day. They went to different parts of the city to woo voters in the crucial local government polls.
A total of seven candidates are contesting for the post of mayor. Besides, a total of 254 candidates are contesting for councilor posts at 57 general wards and 84 women candidates for 19 reserve seats.
The seven GCC mayoral candidates are - Jahangir Alam of Awami League, Hasan Uddin Sarker of BNP, Md Ruhul Amin of Communist Party of Bangladesh, Md Jalal Uddin of Bangladesh Islami Front, Fazlul Haque Minar of IslamiOikkyaJote, Md Nasir Uddin of Islami Andolan Bangladesh and independent candidate Farid Ahmed.
Gazipur Election Returning Officer Raqib Uddin Mandol said that a total of 29-platoon of BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) have been deployed in Gazipur city ahead of the polls. The BGBs were deployed in different parts of the city on Sunday morning to avert any untoward incident.
He said, along with BGB, 600 members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), 6,000 members of the police and 7,000 members of Ansar and APBN will remain deployed in the city.
The returning officer said the main reason to deploy a huge number of law enforcers is to hold the polls in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
Earlier, the GCC polls were scheduled to be held on May 15. However, the High Court stayed it.
Later, the Appellate Division reviewed the High Court order and asked the Election Commission to hold the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) Election within June 28.
Source: dailybangladesh