Voting has began in 192 centres in Narayanganj City Corporation election today amid tight security.
The polling has began at 8:00 am on Sunday and will continue uninterrupted until 4:00 p.m. Voters in several polling stations have faced trouble while casting their ballots in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Electronic voting machines are used to conduct the polls (EVMs). Md Hafizur Rahman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer, and SM Kamrul Hasan, District Senior Election Officer, both said that a high number of law enforcement officers have been posted at each polling station to ensure that the election is fair and impartial.
Although seven candidates are running for the post of the NCC mayor, ruling party nominee Selina Hayat Ivy and her principal rival – Advocate Taimur Alam Khandaker, a veteran BNP leader fighting as an independent candidate – have stolen all the attention. Moreover, 145 candidates are running in general councillor posts and 34 aspirants are vying for the reserved councillor seats for women.
Ivy cast her vote at the Shishubagh School centre in West Deobhog area, while Taimur Alam Khandakar has cast his vote at the Narayanganj Islamia Kamil Madrasa Centre in Masdair.
Ivy hopes the people will pick her again because of her work for the city corporation in the past stints.
Taimur believes the voters will turn to him because of their “anger towards the past leaders of the corporation”.