Ruling Awami League nominated mayoral candidate Azmat Ullah Khan said that he is cent per cent hopeful of his victory in the ongoing Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) election.
“Only the boat symbol will win today. People’s aspiration for a city corporation free from corruption will be ensured through the victory of Awami League in the polls,” he said.
Azmat Ullah also said that he will accept whatever be the result in the election. The verdict of the people is the main issue for him, he added.
Voting in the election to Gazipur City Corporation started at 8:00 am. Azmat Ullah cast his vote at the Tongi Darussalam Madrasah polling centre at around 9:00 am. He met with the newspersons following that.
He said, “A fair, neutral and participatory election is being held today. Hundreds of people have cast votes since the morning. It is a reply to the people who spread the propaganda that people will not come to the polling centres and the election will not be participatory.”
Azmat Ullah, also the president of Gazipur city Awami League, said, “The citizens of GCC were frustrated for the last 10 years. Therefore, hundreds of voters have been turning up at the polling centres since the morning. I am grateful to all of them. I want to thank them.”
He further said, “As a political and social worker, I have always been with the people of the city and have prioritised their opinions. Therefore, I will accept whoever they elect as the city mayor. However, I am cent per cent hopeful of my victory in the polls.”
As per the election commission, the GCC is constituted with a total of 57 general wards and 19 reserved wards. The city has some 1,179,476 voters. Of them, 592,762 are male voters, 586,696 are female voters and the rest 18 are hijras (transgender). The number of polling centres is 480 and the number of polling stations is 3,497.
A total of 332 candidates have been contesting in the GCC election. Of them, eight have been vying for the mayor post, 78 for the reserved councillor candidates and 246 candidates have been contesting for general councillor posts.
The voting started at 8:00 am and it will continue until 4:00 pm without any break, said the official sources of the election commission.