UP Polls: BNP urges people not to vote tomorrow

The BNP urged the voters not to go to the polling stations tomorrow (8 May) to cast their votes in the first phase of the Upazila Parishad (UP) elections.

"The upazila polls will start tomorrow and will be held in four phases. We call upon everyone to tell your relatives, brothers and sisters all over the country not to go to the polling stations," BNP's Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said while distributing leaflets calling for the boycott in the capital's Banani on Tuesday (7 May).

"No one should support the dummy elections to the upazila parishads. It's a sham, farcical and fraudulent election. People won't participate in the polls," Rizvi said.

Rizvi said the country's people turned down the dummy national election on January 7 arranged by the current usurper government. 

"The regime is once again going to conduct sham elections to upazilas. But those who believe in democracy will also boycott this upazila election."

He said the country's people have no interest in going to the polling stations since the government has snatched their right to franchise.

The BNP leader said, "The government is holding the lopsided upazila polls, excluding the people and excluding the participation of the opposition parties, to create scope for the ruling party leaders to indulge in plundering and grabbing people's assets.

The first phase of the upazila elections will commence on Wednesday, with polls set to open in 140 out of the total 495 upazilas.

The 2nd phase of elections are scheduled to be held on 23 May, the third phase on 29 May, and the fourth phase on 5 June.