ZCZC
BSS-01
RpCC-POLLS-START
RpCC polls begins peacefully
RANGPUR, Dec 21, 2017 (BSS) – The voting of Rangpur City Corporation
(RpCC) Election- 2017 began here at 8 am today in a festive mood and
will continue till 4 pm.
A huge number of voters, including male, female and youths, are standing
in queues in the polling centres since this morning and the number of waiting
voters is increasing gradually.
“Though the queues were a little thinner in the very beginning, the
scenarios is being changed in all polling centres from 9 am while around 20
percent of the voters cast their votes till 10 am,” Returning Officer (RO)
for RpCC Election-2017 Subhash Chandra Sarkar told BSS.
“Tens of hundreds of enthusiastic voters, including males and females,
are now standing in queues and waiting for their turns and the voter turnouts
might be over 50 percent by 12 noon,” he said.
Subhash said about 24 security personnel are patrolling at each of the
108 vulnerable polling centres while 22 security men in every other 85 normal
poling centres to ensure peaceful voting of the RpCC polls.
Talking to BSS, Presiding Officers of Keranipara High School, Mariyam
Nesa Girls High School, Rangpur Keramotia High School, Keranipara Government
Primary School, Nurpur Poura Primary School and Salma Girls’ High School
polling centres said the voting was continuing peacefully.
They said about 18 to 22 percent voters have already given their votes
by 10 am as the rate of vote casting is excellent and the turnout is expected
higher than this time in the RpCC polls.
Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad cast his vote at Shishumongal Primary
School while Awami League-nominated candidate Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhantu at
Salema Girls’ High School, Jatiya Party-nominated Mostafizur Rahman Mostafa
at Alamnagar Government Primary School and BNP-nominated candidate Kawsar
Zaman Babla at Dewantuli Government Primary School polling centres this
morning.
After casting his vote, Ershad told reporters that the polling in
RpCC-2017 election would be free and fair and its result would have an impact
on the upcoming national elections.
Meanwhile, the three mayoral candidates – Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhantu (Boat),
Mostafizur Rahman Mostafa (Plough) and Kawser Zaman Babla (Sheaf of Paddy) –
expressed their satisfactions after casting votes, saying that the polling is
progressing peacefully in a festive mood.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) has deployed over 5,500 security
personnel and taken four-tier leaf-proof security blanket in the RpCC area
for ensuring peaceful voting in all 193 polling centres.
Talking to BSS at different polling centres, a number of voters expressed
their satisfactions over the security measures taken by the EC for ensuring a
peaceful election in RpCC.
A total of 283 candidates, including seven for mayoral candidates, 211
candidates for 33 general councilor posts and 65 candidates for 11 reserved
female councilor posts, are contesting the city polls.
BSS/MI/MRI/1057 hrs