Polling officials find other ways to keep busy

It was 3:12pm and the voting was well underway at Model High School and College in Jatrabari's Dania area.

The centre was almost empty, with a scanty number of voters scattered here and there.

Suddenly, a single voice singing a famous Bengali song – "Tumi Je Amar Kobita" to be specific -- came from one of the booths on the third floor.

Out of curiosity, these correspondents, who were coincidently on the veranda, approached the room and found none other than a polling officer as the performer.

"As the voter presence was thin, some of us were feeling bored. So, I was singing the song as some other on-duty officials requested me to," he said.

Even three Ansar members guarding the centre were found sitting idle.

Asked, one of them said, "We've had just one voter in the past half an hour."

The two correspondents were stationed at the centre under the Dhaka-5 constituency during the entire eight-hour voting period starting from 8:00am.

The two incidents summed up the turnout of voters in an election that was boycotted by main opposition parties, handing the ruling Awami League a favourable outcome even before polling day.

Of the 5,183 eligible voters enlisted to exercise their democratic rights at the particular centre, 18.05 percent cast votes, less than half of the national average of about 40 percent. 

The number of voters was low in the first two hours of the day but the pace picked up later.

The turnout was 7.85 percent at noon, and 14.66 percent at 2:00pm, before crossing 18 percent at the end of the day's proceedings.

Many elderly persons, even some with old-age complications, turned up to vote.

"I was desperate to cast my vote as it may be my last one," said Afsar Uddin Ahmed, a freedom fighter. The octogenarian came in a wheelchair and was helped by others.

Ali Haider, another voter who had a leg surgery recently, said, "I cast my vote as one of the candidates is my long-time friend."

Some first-time voters also came to cast ballots.

"I am excited to cast my vote as this was the first time!" said 19-year-old Asma Sadia.

Her aunt Mahmuda Khatun alleged that she could not cast her vote in the last national election as the polling officials told her that her vote was already cast when she reached the centre.

Though her claim could not be independently verified, the 2018 polls were marked by widespread vote-rigging.

Mohammad Jahid Uddin, another first-time voter and a software engineer, regretted that he could not witness a "real competition" as many political parties boycotted the poll.

Polling agents representing the 14 candidates of the constituency were seen at the centre, representing the "boat", "eagle" and "truck" symbols, while just outside, the presence of activists of some candidates was noticed. 

Tofael Hossain, a presiding officer of the centre, said they had completed the voting process in a free and fair manner.

Meanwhile, low voter turnouts were seen in Sylhet and Cox's Bazar as well.

In Sylhet, 90-year-old Afsar Ali came to the polling centre at Panchakhanda Haragovinda High School in Sylhet-6 with the help of his two grandsons.

"I have been casting votes since the Pakistan era. So, I'm here to vote this time as well."

About 22.28 percent of votes were cast at the polling station, where agents of the candidates of the electoral symbols "boat" and "eagle" were present.

In two rooms of the centre, agents of "Plough" and "Golden Fibre" were also found.

Arifur Rahman, a presiding officer of the centre, said three young men tried to enter the centre to cast votes for the second time just 20 minutes before the voting ended. "But they were detained by security personnel."

In Cox's Bazar, it was a long day for election officials and polling agents, as the thin presence of voters gave them very little to do throughout the day.

No untoward incidents were reported at the centres.

(The Daily Star correspondents Mokammel Shuvo and Ekush Tapader contributed to the report)