High turnout marks quiet polls

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Voting in four city corporations and nine municipalities ended peacefully with satisfactory turnout of voters yesterday, although widespread confusion over voters’ identification numbers had caused a messy start in the morning slowing down the balloting.

A considerable number of voters also had to return home after spending hours in queues without having the chance to exercise their right to franchise because of polling officials’ failure to determine many voters’ identities despite having voter lists with photographs in their hands.

Although voters in great numbers lined up at all polling stations before voting started, their enthusiasm soon started to sap due to the voter identification chaos, which delayed the whole process of voting that finally dragged on in many places even after the deadline of 4:00pm.

Queues were seen in front of some polling stations in the city corporations of Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet and Khulna where voters were still casting their votes more than an hour into the deadline, reported our staff correspondents.

No major incident of violence or vote rigging was however reported, and the contestants, especially the mayoral aspirants, expressed their satisfaction regarding the overall voting atmosphere saying the polls were ‘more or less’ free and fair.

Law enforcers however arrested some people on charges of violating electoral rules by doling out money among voters.

The first elections under the military backed caretaker administration started at 8:00am amid heavy security with the Emergency Power Rules fully restored.

Some 1,600 contestants were in the ballot race seeking votes from a total of 13.66 lakh voters.

In the city corporations 46 were vying for four mayoral posts, 752 were contesting for 118 councillorships, and 194 were seeking votes for 39 reserved councilors’ seats for women.

Fifty nine were competing for mayoral posts, 429 for 81 councillorships, and 120 for 27 reserved seats for women in Naohata, Dupchanchia, Chuadanga, Sreepur, Manikganj, Fulbaria, Shariatpur, Golapganj and Sitakunda municipalities.

Chaos reigned at every polling station immediately after voting started because of the confusion over voter registration numbers and national identity card numbers.

Voters who carried with them their national ID cards for voting and the ones who did not carry any card or number with them, both groups faced unexpected hassles in casting their votes, many of whom finally gave up and returned home disgruntled without casting their votes.

Those who brought the national ID cards, their numbers did not match the voters’ numbers on the list in the hands of the polling officials, and they were barred from entering the polling booths until they were able to produce voter registration numbers which matched the numbers on the list.

Some of them actually traveled back home and returned with their voter registration numbers and finally cast their votes, while some others, especially women, did not bother and left without voting.

Some others managed to find their registration numbers from the lists hanging outside the polling stations, spending additional hours in yet another queue.

The sheer hassle of voting caused frustration among the voters discouraging many of them from casting votes, officials said adding that identifying voters was a problem as many of them showed up without their voter identification numbers with them.

Both voters and polling officials said in the past candidates and their supporters used to help the voters collect their numbers, but this time around the practice was absent due to a new electoral system which slapped numerous restrictions on electioneering, including a very short campaign period.

“We are facing problems in identifying voters as most of them don’t know their registration numbers,” said Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, presiding officer (PO) of a polling centre in Barisal, adding that the problem was slowing down the voting process.

Voters said there should have been sufficient campaign by the authorities on the voting system prior to the polls for preventing such confusions.

“I didn’t vote and am returning home after not being able to find my voter registration number,” said Yusuf Ali, a voter at Government Pilot Boys High School in Sylhet. The PO of the centre said providing voters with their registration numbers is not their duty.

Over 5,500 local and international observers monitored yesterdays polls, which is widely considered as a litmus test of the Election Commission’s (EC) preparations for the all-important parliamentary election planned for the third week of December. Many observers termed yesterday’s polling as free, fair and credible.

The strict electoral rules bar any rally or procession till August 7, meaning the winners will not be able to do much in victory celebrations.

The EC and some advisers to the caretaker administration expressed their satisfaction over the elections to the local governments and the voter turnout, terming those free, fair and neutral.

For the first time in the country’s election history, a large projection screen has been set up in front of the Khulna office of the Election Commission to provide live update of the poll results to the public, causing enthusiastic local people to crowd there.

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