Mock voting for Dhaka city polls on Jan 28: EC

Mock voting using electronic voting machines will be held at all voting centres of Dhaka on January 28, ahead of the Dhaka city corporation elections. 

The elections to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) will be held on January 30. People will exercise their voting rights to elect city mayors and councillors with EVMs for the first time in city polls.

Talking to journalists yesterday, Election Commission’s NID Wing Director General Brig Gen Mohammad Sidul Islam said demonstrations of how to cast vote using EVM will take place on January 25 and 26. 

He said the EC has prepared at least 35,000 electronic voting machines for Dhaka city polls. The EC has also decided to deploy two army personnel at each centre, to operate the EVM. However, they will provide only “technical support”, he said.

There are 2,600 voting centres -- 1,460 in DNCC and 1140 in DSCC -- to serve some 54 lakh voters.

According to the polls schedule, the last date for filing nomination papers is December 31.

The returning officers will scrutinise the nomination papers on January 2, and the last date for withdrawing candidacy is January 9.