Voting for three city corporation elections kick off

Voting has started for the city corporation elections in Dhaka and Chittagong.

Six million people in Dhaka North and South and Chittagong are expected to exercise their franchise to choose mayors and councillors.

Polling started at 8am and will end at 4pm.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was the first to vote around 8am at the polling station in Dhanmanodi’s City College.

Counting will begin immediately after the voting ends.

Tuesday has been declared a public holiday in the two major cities of Bangladesh.

The local government polls have pitted the two big political parties  – Awami League and BNP – against each other again.

Altogether 75,000 personnel of several law-enforcing agencies have been deployed to ensure safety of the voters and maintain law and order in Dhaka South, Dhaka North and Chittagong city corporations.

In the three city corporations, altogether 48 people are contesting positions of mayor and nearly 1,200 candidates are vying for the position of councillors , in general and reserved seats.

Sixteen people are contending for the office of the mayor of Dhaka North in its first election after the DCC’s bifurcation in November 2011.

281 are contesting for general councillor positions in its 36 wards, while 89 are in the fray  for the 12 wards reserved for women councillors.

Twenty others are contesting to be  Mayor of Dhaka South.

390 are contesting for general councillor posts in 57 wards in Dhaka South , while 97 are contending for 19 wards reserved for women councillors there.

In Chittagong, 12 candidates are contesting for the mayor’s office while 217 are battling it out for general councillor posts in 41 wards and 62 for 14 wards reserved for women councillors.

A total of 1,870,753 voters in Dhaka South, 2,345,374 in Dhaka North and 1,813,449 in Chittagong are expected to vote on Tuesday to elect mayors and councillors.