DHAKA: All preparations have been done for the municipal elections to begin at 8:00am to continue till 4:00pm on Wednesday (December 30).

Around 7.1 million voters will exercise their rights of franchise on the day to elect mayors and councilors in 234 municipalities in the country.

A general holiday has been announced in the poll areas on the day.

The Election Commission (EC) has sent ballot boxes and papers and other materials to the poll centers.

As many as 900 candidates and 1,200 candidates are vying for mayoral and councilor posts respectively. A total of 19 political parties gave nominated candidates for mayoral election.

Some 228 candidates of Awami League, 225 of BNP and 74 of Jatiya Party are contesting as mayor candidates. Earlier, seven mayor candidates were elected unopposed.

Earlier on Tuesday (December 29), the EC imposed a 24-hour ban on the movement of motor vehicles at the poll areas from 12:01am Wednesday (December 30) to the midnight of Thursday (December 31).

However, the ban will not be imposed on the highways of the areas.

Earlier, electoral campaigns come to a complete end at midnight (12:00am) of 28th December.

The candidates are asked to refrain from any kind of electioneering including informal meetings from that time on.

However, more than 70,000 security personnel have been deployed to keep the law and order situation under control. Another 70,000 will be assigned at the polling centers on the day of the vote.

So, a grand total of more than 140,000 personnel from Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police, Coast Guard and Ansar will be engaged on the vote day.

The EC has already asked the local administration to detain the marked anarchists.

Regarding the vote, EC secretary Sirajul Islam has asserted banglanews, ‘Our preparation has ended. Now it’s time for Vote’.

** Campaign ends, all set for polls

BDST: 2036 HRS, DEC 29, 2015
RR/SMS