EC Habib: Polls acceptable even with 1% of voter turnout
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Expresses satisfaction with first phase of upazila polls
Even if 1% of the voters practice their franchise, election will be acceptable, Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Ahsan Habib Khan has said.
He expressed satisfaction over the voter turnout in the first phase of Upazila Parishad election. "So, 36% voter turnout is not low.”
"The Election Commission will publish the statistics of upazila-wise voter turnout. Besides, the commission will campaign to bring voters to the centers in the upcoming second and third phase of the polls,” he added.
He made the comments at a press briefing after a meeting with election candidates, election officials and members of law enforcement agencies in Jessore on Thursday.
The election commissioner said: "The voter turnout was comparatively low mainly for three reasons. These include the absence of one major political party, secondly it is the paddy harvest season, and also heavy rainfall the night before the election.”
He hoped that voter turnout would increase in the future.
Polling will be held in 160 upazilas in the second phase on May 21, in 112 upazilas in the third phase on May 29 and in more than 50 upazilas in the fourth phase on June 5.
Prior to the start of the elections, the Election Commission had estimated more than 28 million voters across the 139 upazilas.