The Mayoral elections in Khulna and Barishal cities will be held today amid tight security and in a festive atmosphere as the authorities concerned have completed all necessary preparations.
The voting will begin at 8:00am and will be continued till 4:00pm through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Moreover, CCTV cameras have been installed at the centres and election commissioners and other officials will monitor the polls from the Election Commission (EC) at Agargaon in the capital.
Campaigning for the KCC and the BCC elections ended on Saturday midnight after intense mass contact by the candidates and their supporters.
EC has taken all-out measures, including adequate security arrangements for Monday's much-hyped elections to the Barisal and Khulna city corporations. To control law and order in the electoral area, additional law enforcers, including Police, RAB, BGB, Ansar, VDP and APBN, have been deployed.
In Khulna City Corporation polls, five candidates, vying for the mayoral posts, are AL nominated Talukder Abdul Khaleque, Jatiya Party's Shafiqul Islam Modhu, Bangladesh Islami Andolon's Moulana Abdul Awal, Zaker Party's SM Sabbir Hossain and independent candidate Shafiqur Rahman Mushfiq.
Total 136 candidates are vying for councillors in 29 general wards, and 30 for reserved seats. Two councillors for wards 13 and 24 have been elected unopposed.
A total of 535,522 voters-268,828 male and 2,66,698 female-to cast their votes in the 31 wards of Khulna city and there are 1,732 polling booths under 289 polling stations. The EC already installed some 2,310 CCTV cameras to constantly monitor the polling centres.
Meanwhile, Returning Officer of KCC polls Md Alauddin and Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) Masudur Rahman Bhuiyan in a press briefing at City's Boyra Police Line Ground on Sunday informed journalists that three-tier security measures have been taken for holding a peaceful KCC polls amid complete security blanket.
The KMP boss said, "Around 8,300 law enforcement agencies including 4,520 police men, 300 APBN, 3,468 Ansars have been deployed in the city today. Fifteen striking forces including 8 reserve forces and five standby forces consist of 55 personnel in each force, 62 mobile petrol teams of KMP have also been deployed for holding the KCC polls peacefully."
Besides, at least 11 BGB platoon has been deployed in the city area while five have been kept as a reserve force, he added.
The Returning officer said massive preparation has already taken for holding KCC polls free, fair, and peaceful.
In Barishal City Corporation (BCC) polls, the mayoral candidates are Awami League nominated Abul Khair Abdullah alias Khokon Serniabat, Jatiya Party's Iqbal Hossain Taposh, Islamic Andolan Bangladesh's Mufti Syed Faizul Karim, Zaker Party's Mizanur Rahman Bachchu, and independent candidates Ali Hossain Howladar, former Chhatra Dal leader Kamrul Ahsan Rupan and Asaduzzaman.
Some 116 candidates are vying for councillors at 30 wards in the city and 42 women candidates for the 10 reserved councillor posts.
A total of 276,298 voters will cast their votes in 126 polling centres. Among which 106 are "risky", according to the Barishal Metropolitan Police (BMP). As many as 1,146 CCTV cameras have been set up at the centres.
According to a public circular, traffic movement has been suspended in cities from Sunday midnight.
It said the movement of trucks, buses, minibuses, microbuses, jeeps, pickups, cars, easy bikes, launches, and all types of engine-driven boats has been banned from June 11 midnight to June 12 midnight.
Meanwhile, KCC and BCC polls were boycotted by the BNP and like-minded parties.
The BNP has expelled 19 leaders, including Rupan, in Barishal and nine in Khulna for joining the polls. The party is also asking its supporters not to campaign for the expelled candidates and voters to boycott the polls.
