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Male voters get 48 seconds under new EC plan
The Election Commission (EC) has increased the number of voters assigned to each polling booth by 50 percent for local government elections, with a voter expected to get less than a minute to cast their ballot under the new arrangement.
According to the revised “Policy on Establishment and Management of Polling Centres for Local Government Elections,” a polling booth will now be allocated for every 600 male voters in city corporation, upazila parishad, district council, municipality and union parishad elections. Previously, one booth was designated for every 400 male voters.
For female voters, the number has also been revised. Earlier, a booth was assigned for 300 to 350 female voters, but the new policy sets one booth for every 500 female voters.
According to EC calculations, if all voters turn out at a polling centre, a male voter will get an average of 48 seconds and a female voter 58 seconds to cast their ballots under the new system.
The revised policy allows the installation of multiple secret voting spaces, known as “marking places”, to ensure smoother voting despite the increased number of voters per booth. The same arrangement will apply to general and by-elections.
However, the previous rule of setting up one polling centre for every 2,000 voters remains unchanged. The provision requiring at least one polling booth in each ward has also been retained.
The EC has instructed that the list of polling centres must be published in a gazette at least 25 days before the voting date.
EC officials said local government elections generally involve more candidates and intense competition compared to national elections. Besides, voters have to cast ballots for multiple posts, including chairman, reserved women members and general members, which makes the voting process more time-consuming.
They said increasing the number of voters per booth may lead to longer waiting times and could slightly delay vote counting if voter turnout is high.
However, the EC believes the new system will reduce the number of polling booths and lower the requirement for election personnel, helping cut government expenditure. The commission also expects that the absence of some listed voters, including expatriates, deceased voters and election officials, will prevent major complications under the revised arrangement.
-HIS
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; 01550707296 Advertisement: 41053012; 01550707291
E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]
