Data from 8 polling centres in Dhaka: 6-13pc turnout in first 2 hours

Data collected from eight polling centres across five constituencies in Dhaka show that voter turnout ranged between six and thirteen per cent in the first two hours. This is the data collected from those eight centres located in Dhaka-6, 12, 13, 14 and 15 constituencies.

Voting in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) election and the referendum began at 7:30 am today, Thursday. Polling is taking place peacefully across the country. Voters started arriving at centres early in the morning. An analysis of at least four centres indicates that it is taking two to three minutes on average for each vote to be cast. This, however, does not reflect the overall national picture.

Many expressed excitement at casting their votes for the first time. For example, Sadia Akter arrived at her polling centre, AKM Rahmatullah College centre in Dhaka-11, at 7:30 am and cast her vote at 7:45 am. A student of the same college, she said she felt very good about voting for the first time and faced no difficulties in coming to the centre or casting her ballot.

Inni Akter, 22, came to cast her vote at the Beraid Government Primary School centre. She lives in Savar due to her husband’s job, but her parents live in Beraid area and she is a registered voter there. “I feel so happy,” she said. “I came from Savar two days ago for the election. It’s my first time voting. I am casting my own vote. There is no vote rigging.”

At the Bijoy International School centre in Dhaka-15, polling has been peaceful since morning. Total 300 voters had cast their ballots at this centre till 10:00 am. There are 2,200 registered voters across four booths in the southern building of the school. Turnout stood at approximately 13.63 per cent there till 10:00 am.

Habibur Rahman, the presiding officer in charge of the centre, confirmed the matter. He told Prothom Alo that no untoward incident or problem had occurred at the polling station so far and that the situation remained completely peaceful.

Agents of the candidates were also present at the centre. Agents representing the two main contenders, the BNP candidate with the sheaf of paddy symbol and the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate with the balance scales symbol, were monitoring the voting process.

The Dhaka-15 seat is being contested by Jamaat-e-Islami’s Ameer Shafiqur Rahman and BNP candidate Shafiqul Islam Khan.

At centre no. 46 of Nakhhalpara Hossain Ali High School in Dhaka-12, Presiding Officer Md Wali Ullah said that turnout reached eight per cent in the first two hours. Of the 2,854 registered voters, 225 cast their ballots during those two hours.

There are three centres at the University Laboratory School and College of the University of Dhaka. One is designated for women voters, with 2,565 registered voters. Presiding officer of the centre, Mohammad Helal Uddin said 172 votes were cast there in the first two hours, amounting to seven per cent turnout.

At another centre in the same institution, the presiding officer Imtiaz Ahmed said most voters at the centre are current and former students of the University of Dhaka. Of the 1,426 registered voters there, 180 cast their ballots in the first two hours, amounting to 12.62 per cent turnout.

At the Boro Mogbazar Government Primary School centre in the same constituency, there are total 6,737 registered voters. In the first two hours, 460 votes were cast (201 by women and 259 by men), representing just under seven per cent turnout.

In the two centres of the Government Physical Education College in Mohammadpur under Dhaka-13 constituency, turnout reached 7.14 per cent in the first two hours. The presiding officers of the two centres said this at around 9:30 am this morning.

There is one male and one female polling centres at the Government College of Physical Education, with a total of 4,993 registered voters. Of them, 2,640 are male voters and 2,353 are female. There are total ten booths (five for men and five for women) in the two centres.

Presiding officer of the male centre there, Robiul Islam said 200 out of 2,640 male voters cast their ballots in the first two hours, a turnout of 7.57 per cent. Meanwhile, presiding officer of the female centre, Badal Mia said 158 of the 2,353 female voters have voted in the first two hours, representing 6.71 per cent turnout.

At the poling centre of Bangladesh-Korea Technical Training Centre in Dhaka-14 constituency, 344 votes were cast in the first two hours accounting for 12.29 per cent turnout. There are total 2,799 registered voters in the centre.