Elections in 20 Remal-hit Upazilas to be held Jun 9: EC

Polls in Chandpur’s Faridganj and Kechua and Cumilla’s Chandina will be held during the fourth phase of polls on Jun 5

The Election Commission has announced new dates for the Upazila polls postponed in coastal areas due to the damage from Cyclone Remal.

Twenty Upazilas will go to the polls on Jun 9 instead, said EC Secretary Md Jahangir Alam.

The announcement was made at the EC’s headquarters in Dhaka's Agargaon on Wednesday.

The damage from the cyclone in 20 Upazilas forced the election regulator to shift the date of the polls. The lack of power at two Chandpur Upazilas using EVMs for the polls led to them being postponed as well.

The polls in Cumilla’s Chandina - suspended due to legal issues – have also been pushed back to Jun 5 alongside the fourth phase of the polls.

“The EC has made a decision on the polls suspended in Upazilas,” the EC secretary said. “The polls in coastal areas will be held on Jun 9. Voting in Chandpur’s Faridganj and Kechua Upazilas will be held during the fourth round of the polls on Jun 5. Voting in Cumilla’s Chandina – stayed due to a case – will also be held that same day.”

As a result, 57 Upazilas will be headed to the polls in the fourth phase.

The sixth Upazila Parishad elections will see 485 of 495 Upazilas across the country go to the polls.

The first phase of the polls occurred in 139 Upazilas on May 8.

The second phase saw 156 Upazilas go to the polls on May 21.

Ninety Upazilas are voting in the third phase on Wednesday.

The fourth phase is to be held on Jun 5.

The Upazila polls suspended due to the storm were in Bagerhat’s Sharankhola, Morrelganj, and Mongla; Khulna’s Koyra, Paikgacha, and Dumuria; Barishal’s Gaurnadi and Agoiljhara; Patuakhali’s Sadar, Mirzaganj, and Dumki; Pirojpur’s Mathbaria, Bhola’s Tazumuddin and Lalmohan, Jhalakathi’s Rajapur and Kathalia, and Barguna’s Bamna and Pathorghata, Rangamati’s Baghaichari and Netrokona’s Khaliajuri.