EC: Voter turnout 10% in first 2hrs of upazila polls

The voter turnout remained relatively low in the first two hours of the first phase of the Upazila Parishad polls on Wednesday.

Election Commission (EC) Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath revealed the information.

According to EC officials, initial data revealed an average voter turnout of less than 10% in the first two hours. However, detailed center-wise information was yet to be uploaded to the EC app from all locations.

EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said: “Voting is proceeding peacefully across all areas. No reports of violence or irregularities have been reported.”

He said voting at 10,399 centres of 139 upazilas is taking place since 8am in the morning.

Of these, 22 upazilas are using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), while the remainder opt for traditional paper ballots.

Some 1,630 candidates, including nearly 570 chairmen post contenders, are in the electoral race in the 139 upazilas, fighting for a total of 417 posts.

Prior to the start of the elections, the EC estimated more than 28 million voters across the 139 upazilas.