Bogura-1, Jashore-6 go to polls today
Two parliamentary constituencies -- Bogura-1 and Jashore-6 -- go to by-elections today amid coronavirus scare as locals say the campaigns of only ruling Awami League candidates were visible.
The Election Commission said they were compelled to hold the polls as it was needed to fulfill the constitutional obligation of filling the vacant seat of a member of parliament within 180 days.
EC Senior Secretary Md Alamgir yesterday told The Daily Star that they completed all formalities and preparations for holding the by-polls.
Health guidelines and social distancing directives would be strictly maintained during the election to stem the spread of coronavirus, he said.
There will be soaps and hand sanitisers at all polling centres, and all voters will have to use it before and after casting votes, he said, adding that all election officials and voters would be wearing masks.
Voters will stand in line by maintaining a distance of at least three feet. Only one voter will be allowed to enter the polling booth at a time. All polling officials and agents of candidates will perform their duties maintaining proper distance, said the EC senior secretary.
"We have taken necessary steps to hold the elections peacefully," he said.
While answering a question about the possibilities of low voter turnout due to coronavirus scare, Alamgir admitted that there is a chance of fewer people casting the vote.
Bogura-1 and Jashore-6 constituencies fell vacant following the deaths of ruling party lawmakers Abdul Mannan and Ismat Ara Sadique respectively.
The EC in February announced that by-elections to the two constituencies will be held on March 29. But they postponed the polls on March 21, considering the coronavirus situation.
On July 4, the EC said that elections to the two constituencies will be held on July 14.
There are about 5.22 lakh voters in the two constituencies -- 3.17 lakh in Bogura-1 and 2.04 lakh in Jashore-6 -- and voting will begin at 9:00am and continue until 5:00pm without any break.
There are 122 polling centres in Bogura-1 and 79 in Jashore- 6.
In Bogura-1 (Sonatala and Sariakandi upazilas), five candidates are vying for the by-election, including AL candidate Shahdhara Mannan and Jatiya Party candidate Moksedul Alam.
In Jashore-6 (Keshabpur), two candidates are vying for the polls -- Shahin Chakladar from the AL and Habibur Rahman Habib from the JP.
The BNP initially decided to take part in both the by-polls and collected nomination papers, but changed its mind and boycotted the elections when the EC declared the election date for the second time on July 4 amid the pandemic.
Locals said campaigns of only AL candidates were visible in the last few days. Many voters said they were not interested to go to the polling centres due to the fear of Covid infections, correspondents of this newspaper reported from Jahsore and Bogura.
Flooding in different areas of Bogura-1 may further lower the vote casting rate, said locals. Flood situation in Bogura is worsening again for the last two days.
Mamunur Rashid, 32, a resident of Chakratinath char in Sariakandi upazila, said as they had lost work due to the coronavirus and were dealt another blow by the flood, they could not even think of the election in this situation.
"We are not interested to vote this time amid flood and coronavirus," said Hosneara Begum, 40, of Nawapara char under the same upazila.
EC Secretary Alamgir said 14 polling centers in Sariakandi and Sonatala were shifted elsewhere due to the flood.
Meanwhile, five people, including Intezar Rahman, 68, father of independent candidate in Bogura-1 Eyeasir Rahmatullah Entaz, were held with Tk 7 lakh from in front of Sonatala filling station on Sunday night.
Kudrat-E-Khuda Shuvo, assistant superintendent of police (Shibganj circle), said they were held as they were "spreading black money for the election."