The Election Commission and the candidates participating in the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) elections are anticipating a voter turnout of 60%.
The candidates have already completed their campaigning activities and are now making final preparations for the polls, scheduled on Wednesday.
While reminding the pre-announced election manifesto, former mayor of RCC AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, who is also the Awami League-backed mayoral candidate, said he would keep a continuous trend of development.
And he expressed hope that around 65% of voters will exercise their rights to vote in Wednesday's RCC polls.
AHM Khairuzzaman Liton said: “Three candidates including me are contesting for the post of mayor, 30 general, and 10 reserved ward councillor posts are being fiercely contested. All in all, the election will be held in a festive and joyful atmosphere.”
He said that he would have felt happier if BNP participated in the polls as well. “They boycotted the election even though they were requested not to. I do not understand what they will do in the next general election.”
However, there are BNP-Jamaat candidates who are participating in the RCC polls for councillor posts and reserved seats.
According to Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists, they are more focused on serving the people of Rajshahi, rather than participating in local polls.
Saiful Islam Swapan, Jatiya Party-backed mayor candidate said: "We have tried to reach the voters. Most people said they would cast votes. So we are also hopeful that one-third of the people will go to the polling station to vote.”
Earlier, Lieutenant Colonel Riaz Shahriar, commanding officer of RAB-5, said that the RAB has already been deployed to the election grounds.
“On election day, 250 RAB members will be present as a striker force. They will rush to any scene of disorder and restore control. Furthermore, members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will also be on the grounds,” he added.
The Rajshahi City Corporation elections will be held on Wednesday, with a total of 352,157 voters, including 30,157 new voters.
Among the voters, 171,185 are men and 180,972 are women.
Voting will take place in 1,153 booths across 155 centres using electronic voting machines (EVMs).