Huge gatherings, low voting in some centres

The 12th parliamentary elections were held almost peacefully across the country on Sunday, but the number of voters inside most of the polling booths were low compared to the gatherings and long queues of people in some polling centres.

In some places, there were allegations that some people were kept standby in such queues for hours by the ruling party candidates to show a good turnout of voters.

A long line of voters was found at the Asraful Madaris and Orphanage Centre of Dhaka-13 constituency, where Awami League Presidium Member Jahangir Kabir Nanak contested with the party's "boat" symbol, immediately after opening of the polling booths at 8am, but almost the same line was found at the centre after nearly two hours.

Some voters of the centre were found either standing in the line or taking rest beside the road, but were not going inside the polling booths. Some of those were wearing the badge of AL candidate Nanak.

Asked around 10:30am why she was standing outside the polling booth for a long time without casting her vote, a woman named Kulsum told The Business Standard, "I have been standing here since the morning and will stay until 5pm."

Even after waiting there for nearly 40 minutes, none of the 100 people thronging outside the polling station were not seen entering the polling booths. Around 11:30am, the voting booth was found empty whereas there still was a long line outside the centre.

Local people said these people are mostly Nanak's supporters.

Asked about the matter, Presiding Officer Mokhlesur Rahman told TBS, "We cannot say anything about why people are standing outside the centre. It is our responsibility to take the votes of those who enter inside. There is no problem inside."

He said 52 votes were cast till 10am at that centre designated for the women voters.

Later around 2:30pm, Mokhlesur Rahman told TBS over the phone that 160 people voted there till 2pm. Total votes in the centre were 2,336.

In a reaction after casting his vote, Nanak told reporters, "Polling is going on in an unprecedented, fair and beautiful manner. Voters are coming, there is enthusiasm among them. They told me they were surprised by seeing such a beautiful environment…I am expecting more than 50% votes."

Similarly, low presence of voters compared with high crowds outside polling booths were found at the Mirpur Bangla School and College centre of Dhaka-16 constituency with five voting centres.

The number of voters was 17,000 there but none of the five centres in the constituency saw more than 2% polling in the first two hours.

Our Sylhet correspondent said Foreign Minister Abdul Momen cast his vote at Durgakumar Pathshala at 10am at Durgakumar Pathshala centre in the city. 

Some 200 people, mostly women, gathered near Madhuban Supermarket next to the polling station an hour before his arrival there. They entered the centre just five minutes before the minister and left the place after the minister's departure. 

When asked to make a comment on this, Mrinmoy Das Jhuton, the presiding officer of that centre, said, "I was with the foreign minister at that time and I did not see who gathered outside."