Voting begins in over 50 UP, municipal and district administration elections

Voting has begun in over 50 local elections across the country.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 23 May 2017, 05:19 AM
Updated : 23 May 2017, 05:19 AM

The Election Commission (EC) organised elections in 56 Union Parishads (UP), 21 wards and one municipality on Tuesday.

Polling centres opened at 8am and will close at 4pm. Election officials say they have taken all the necessary precautions to ensure fair, free and safe elections.

According to EC Election Management and Coordination officials, general elections are being held in 17 UPs, 13 UPs will re-vote after courts accepted legal challenges against previous elections, and the remaining 27 will be holding by-elections for various positions. Twenty wards will be holding re-votes for district administration positions after court challenges and one will hold general elections.

Joypurhat’s Khetlal will be holding general municipal elections.

Parties can field candidates for the posts of mayor and chairman, but all candidates for UP member or councillor must run as independents.

Necessary security measures have been adopted for the polling areas taking into consideration their importance and environment, said EC Election Management Wing Deputy Secretary Md Nuruzzaman Talukdar.

The EC has declared a ‘maximum alert’ at a general UP election in Moheshkhali’s Kalarmarchora.