The first phase of the Upazila Parishad Election saw a voter turnout of 43.32%, Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said on Monday.
"A total of 78 Upazila Parishads went to the polls on Sunday, where some 43.32% of the voters cast their votes," he told reporters at his office in the commission headquarters at Agargaon, Dhaka.
About the reported election irregularities, Helal said the balloting at some polling stations were suspended, and now the commission will investigate and take legal action against those involved in anomalies.
Voting in 28 polling centres was cancelled while three election officials arrested on various grounds during the first phase of the upazila polls held on Sunday.
Also Read- EC: First phase of upazila parishad polls held peacefully
On February 3, the Election Commission had announced the election schedule for 87 upazilas in the first phase of the Fifth Upazila elections. Later, the polls to six were postponed on different grounds.
The candidates against all the Union Parishad posts of three upazilas have already been elected unopposed.
The 5th upazila election will be completed in five phases holding polls to some 480 upazilas out of 492. The EC so far has announced the election schedules for the first four phases.
The second phase of the election is set for March 18, while the third for March 24 and the fourth on March 31.
