The Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, is overseeing the simultaneous monitoring of elections in two cities, Dhaka and Cox's Bazar, through a temporary control room set up in the election building auditorium, reports Kaler Kantho.
The control room, equipped with CCTV cameras, has been operational since 8 am. Additionally, Khulna City Corporation and Barisal City Corporation elections are being closely monitored with a total of 2310 and 1146 cameras respectively. Cox's Bazar municipal election is also under surveillance with 331 cameras in 43 centers.
A team comprising election commissioners and the Secretary of the Election Commission is overseeing the monitoring process. A network of 235 CCTV cameras is continuously observing the activities at 2871 polling booths, with 23 digital display boards providing real-time updates every ten seconds.
With a total of 289 polling stations in Khulna City Corporation and 126 in Barisal City Corporation, the election proceedings have remained peaceful so far. The voting process began at 8 am and will continue until 4 pm. The competition for the mayoral positions has garnered significant attention, with four political parties participating: Awami League, Jatiya Party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, and Zaker Party. Notably, the main opposition party, BNP, is not taking part in the elections.
Barisal City Corporation has 276,298 eligible voters, including 137,489 male and 138,809 female voters. Seven candidates are vying for the mayor's post, while 118 candidates are contesting for 30 general ward councilor positions and 42 candidates for 10 reserved women councilor positions.
In the Khulna city elections, five candidates are running for the mayoral position, including candidates from Awami League, Jatiya Party, Islamic Movement of Bangladesh, Zaker Party, and an independent candidate. Additionally, ten candidates associated with BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami supporters are competing for councilorship.
Overall, the election environment has been deemed satisfactory by candidates and voters, and the voter turnout is expected to be good, particularly in Barisal, due to the ruling party's changed candidates and favorable conditions.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
