Over 7,000 residents have been appointed as presiding officers, assistant presiding officers or polling officers for the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) election, and so are unable to vote in the polls.
Returning Officer Motiar Rahman said: “In the national elections there is a special process for election officials to cast votes, but this [process] does not apply to local government elections.”
According to the Election Commission 392 voting centres for 2,289 polling booths will be set up for the GCC election with one presiding officer, one assistant presiding officer and two polling officers for each centre. Election officials will also be on standby at each centre.
The officials were appointed from various schools, colleges and madrasas from the city corporation area to preside over the elections in which seven candidates will contest for the mayoral post.
The contenders for the much-hyped elections are Awami League-backed Azmat UIlah with the inkpot-pen symbol; the AL’s rebel candidate Jahangir Alam, with the pineapple symbol; BNP’s Mannan with the television symbol; Sachetan Nagorik Parishad candidate Nazimuddin with the horse symbol and Jatiyatabadi Prajanma Dal convener Mezbahuddin Sarkar Rubel with the duck symbol. There are two independent candidates; Rina Sultana and Aman Ullah with butterfly and lock symbols respectively.
In addition, 469 councillor candidates will contend for 57 general wards and 126 female councillor candidates for 19 reserved female wards.
On May 22, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad announced the election schedule for the Gazipur city polls. The schedule sets the election date for July 6 with the electoral campaign to end by midnight on July 4.
There are 1,026,938 voters for GCC polls with 527,777 male and 499,161 female voters.
