Dhaka, Feb 28 (UNB) – Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda on Thursday said the low voter turnout in the ongoing elections to the two city corporations is not the liability of the Commission.
“It’s the responsibility of candidates and political parties to bring voters to polling centres,” he said while talking to reporters after casting his vote at IES School and College Polling Station in the city’s Uttara area.
The CEC said it is the commission’s responsibility to create an election environment, not to bring the voters to polling stations.
Replying to a journalist’s question, the CEC said, “Although the voter turnout remained low in the morning, it’ll increase at the end of the day.”
Pointing out to two reasons behind the low turnout, Huda said voters are not interested in voting because some major political parties are not participating in it.
Voting in the by-election to the mayoral post of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) along with its 18 wards and in 36 wards of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) began at 8 am amid rain and will continue till pm without any break.
The voter turnout was seen poor in the morning due to the rain since early Thursday.
Five candidates are vying for the mayoral post, while 116 contenders for 18 general councillor posts and 45 aspirants for six reserved seats which are exclusively for women. Of them, one general councillor candidate was elected unopposed in the city.
The five mayoral candidates are Awami League’s Atiqul Islam (Boat), Jatiya Party’s Shafin Ahmed (Plough), NPP’s Anisur Rahman (Mango) and PDP’s Shahin Khan (Tiger) and independent runner Abdur Rahim (Table Clock).
