While the absence of BNP in the upcoming Khulna City Corporation (KCC) polls does not concern most local Awami League leaders, they did express their fear regarding voter turnout.
Talukder Abdul Khaleque, the incumbent mayor of KCC and the Awami League-backed mayoral candidate, is already in high spirits.
However, he also shared concerns about the level of voter participation in the poll, slated for Monday.
Talukder Abdul Khaleque has instructed all party members to be active during the polls.
“Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has selected me as a candidate. BNP has no candidate in the election. BNP has instructed its workers to refrain from the polls. We have been working to make sure voters participate in the polls. There is no time to waste,” said Khaleque.
According to sources, since April 23, the mayor has been holding a series of meetings with the beneficiaries of various projects of KCC.
Almost every day he gives financial support to various projects in multiple wards of the city, they said.
Apart from that, Awami League, as a party has also taken various preparation for the election, including forming an Election Management Committee.
The Election Commission has completed all preparations ahead of the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) election.
Returning Officer Md Alauddin said voting at all centres in the KCC election will be done using electronic voting machines (EVM), and CCTV cameras have been installed at all polling booths.
A total of 3,000 EVMs will be used for the KCC polls, he said, adding that there are additional reserves, and those will be used if required.
Apart from that, 11 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) troops and over 8,000 law enforcement officials have been deployed in Khulna to ensure overall security during the election.
On top of that, 289 presiding officers, 1,732 assistant presiding officers and 3,464 polling officers will be present on Monday for the smooth completion of the polling process.
This year, five candidates are vying for the mayor post, 136 for councillors in 29 general wards and 30 for reserved seats.
Two councillors for wards 13 and 24 have been elected unopposed, reports UNB.
A total of 535,528 people are expected to exercise their franchise in the 31 wards of the KCC, and there will be 1,732 polling booths under 289 polling stations.