Shawdesh dEsk:

Voting in Rajshahi and Sylhet City Corporation elections ended on Wednesday afternoon.

The voting started at 8:00am and continued till 4:00pm without any break.

New Age correspondent in Rajshahi reported that heavy rain disrupted the voting activities in the city.

Voters were seen waiting at the polling stations after casting their votes.

At Rajshahi Muslim High School, a total of 460 out of 2419 votes were casted till 11:00am, said presiding officer AHM Humayun Kabir.

Earlier, Awami League nominated candidate AHM Khairuzzaman Liton casted his vote at Rajshahi Satellite Town High School at about 9:15am.

After casting his vote, Liton told reporters that he was satisfied with the overall voting conditions and would accept the results, irrespective of the outcome.

In a reply to a question, Liton said if the Bangladesh Nationalist Party had participated in the elections, they would have gained insight into the public opinion regarding their support.

Meanwhile, Jatiya Party-backed candidate Saiful Islam Swapan casted his vote at AtKoshi High School centre at about 11:00am.

After casting his vote, Swapan alleged that his agents were not allowed to enter at some centres in the morning. ‘They entered later after I talked to the election officials’, he added

Swapan also alleged that the voting process was slow due to use of EVM.

Meanwhile, at most centers the polling agents of two mayoral candidates except that of Al candidate were not found

Contacted, Swapan said that he did not give polling agents to all centers but at 72 centers.

This year, 3,52,157 voters are expected to vote in RCC polls. Among them, 1,71,185 are male voters, while 1,80,972 are female.

A total of 30,157 new voters were listed for the first time.

In the RCC polls, 76.28 per cent of votes were cast in 2018, while 74.85 per were cast in 2013.

People in Sylhet city were seen casting their votes in a peaceful environment, using electronic voting machines, presiding officer Nishatur Chowdhury at Al Jameya Ideal Academy polling station said.

Voters started arriving to their respective polling stations before 8:00am.

Shaha Toron Mia, 65, who came to cast his vote at Al Jameya Ideal Academy polling station, said, ‘I have come here with a lot of hope. I hope those who will be elected will work for us.’

No untoward incident happened till the filing of this report at about 11:00am.

Jatiya Party’s mayoral candidate for Sylhet City Corporation election, Nazrul Islam Babul, alleged that BCL and Juba League leaders and activists were booting out agents for the ‘plough’ symbol from various centres.

‘I have been getting repeated calls from different centres that ‘plough’ agents are being thrown out from centres and not allowed to enter many centres,’ he said.

He made the allegation while talking to reporters after casting his vote at Ananda Niketan School in the city at about 9:30am.

‘I have been saying from the beginning that attempts are being made to influence the election. I have come to cast my vote at Ananda Niketan School. Muscle strength is being demonstrated here,’ he said.

‘I just got the news that all the agents of ‘plough’ have been booted from Sylhet Government Pilot High School centre by the goons of Chhatra League and Juba League. I strongly condemn this. I’m going to the centre right now. I will file a written complaint with the Election Commission,’ said the Jatiya Party leader.

‘The EVM did not work for an hour in the morning. It could also be part of the plot. The Election Commission, the administration, and the returning officers are all in the pockets of the ‘boat’ candidate,’ he added.

A total of 4,87,747 people — 2,54,363 male and 2,33,384 female — are scheduled to cast their votes.

Seven candidates are vying for the mayoral posts as the Islami Andolon-backed candidate Hafiz Maulana Mahmudul Hasan boycotted the election.

This year, a total of 1,747 CCTV cameras have been installed in 190 polling stations to observe the Sylhet city polls.

In Sylhet, eight candidates – AL-backed Md Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, Jatiya Party’s Md Nazrul Islam, Zaker Party’s Md Zahirul Alam, Islami Andolon’s Mahmudul Hasan, and independent Mohammad Abdul Hanif Kutu, Md Salah Uddin Rimon, Mostaque Ahmed Rauf, and Md Shahjahan Miah, are contesting for the mayor’s office in the SCC polls.

Besides, 273 aspirants are contesting for councillor posts in 42 general wards and 87 candidates for councillor posts in 14 reserved councillor posts for women in the SCC polls.