Most of the presiding and polling officers and agents of candidates were seen sitting idle during polling hours at different polling centres of Dhaka-15 and Dhaka-16 constituencies on Sunday. A visit to different polling centres of the two constituencies, including the Mirpur Girls’ Ideal Laboratory Institute, Mirpur Adarsha High School, Pallabi Government Primary School, Pallabi Majedul Islam Model High School, Mirpur Bangla High School and College, SOS Herman Mainer and the Progati High School, showed very low voter turnout in the early hours.
Only one person out of 3,109 voters cast his ballot at the Mirpur Girls’ Ideal Lab Institute centre till 9:00am. While only 83 out of 2,013 voters of centre No.136 at the Pallabi Government Primary School cast their votes till 3:58pm, said presiding officer Mojibur Rahman. Only 39 out of 2,304 voters (centre No. 94) at the Mirpur Adarsha High School centre cast their ballots till 3:48pm, said the centre’s presiding officer Mizanur Rahman.
Both the presiding officers told The Independent that the voter turnout was low due to the volatile political situation and the cold.
Because of the low turnout, polling personnel, policemen and Ansars were seen passing time either gossiping or dozing at different centres.
Rehena Akhter, a polling agent, was sitting idle inside the booth due to the poor turnout. “It seems I am passing leisure time as there is no steady flow of voters. I am taking my food,” she said.
Another polling agent, Masudur Rahman, had plugged in the earphones of his cell phone and was listening to music inside the booth. Polling agents gossiping with colleagues at their respective centres, male Ansars talking to their female counterparts were common scenes at different polling centres.
Only 56 out of 2,298 voters cast their ballots at centre No. 93, while 55 out of 2,298 cast their votes at centre No. 93 of the Mirpur Adarsha High School till 3:45pm, said presiding officers Md Wali Ullah and SM Saidur Rahman, respectively.
Mahmud Mizanur Rahman, presiding officer at centre No. 5 of SOS Herman Mainer said that only 15 votes had been cast out of 2,049 voters till 3:15pm.
Md Abdul Kadir Khan, a presiding officer at centre No.62 of the Mirpur Bangla High School and College said 537 out of 2,694 voters had cast their ballots till 3:45pm.
Humayun Kabir, presiding officer of centre No.132, said 260 voters against a total of 2,177 voted till 3:48pm, while 343 against 2,363 voters cast their ballots till 3:50 pm, KM Yakub Ali of centre No. 127 of the Pallabi Majedul Islam Model High School and College told The Independent.
An assistant presiding officer, two polling officers, two Ansars and a policeman were on duty at each polling booth of every centre.
The Election Commission would have to pay Tk. 3,000 to each presiding officer, Tk. 2,000 to each assistant presiding officer, Tk. 1,500 to each polling officer, Tk. 800 to each policeman and Tk. 234 to each Ansar per day.
-With The Independent input
