Hartal in Noakhali, Laxmipur Wednesday
AL-backed candidate takes control of 18 centres in Laxmipur, BCL men snatch ballot papers in Habiganj and Comilla
Supporters of ruling Awami League-backed mayoral candidate vandalise ballot box after snatching it from Noakhali Primary School polling centre authority on Tuesday. Photo: Star Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) suspended elections in Senbagh municipality in the same district due to 'irregularities' during the polls.
Voting at a centre in Habiganj municipality remains suspended after activists of ruling party's student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), snatched ballot papers. On the other hand, vote casting resumed at a centre under Nagolkot municipality in Comilla after a 45-minute suspension for the same reason.
Our Chandpur correspondent reports authorities suspended voting at Sengarchar Government Primary School centre in Sengarchar municipality polls following allegation of rigging.
Voting in 58 municipalities began at 8:00am and continued till 4:00pm without any break.
Our correspondents covering the polls report that voters' turnout to the polling centres were thin till 10:00am due to chill wave but the scenarios changed later.
NOAKHALI
Harunur Rashid Azad, BNP-backed mayoral candidate vying for Noakhali municipality, informed the election officials about capture of 25 centres by his rivals and his supporters, our Noakhali correspondent reports.
"And I requested returning officer (RO) to suspend the voting. But he won't listen to me," Azad told reporters, adding that the RO, M Shakhawat Hossain, the additional deputy commissioner, ordered for continuing the polls.
He later convened a press conference at former BNP lawmaker M Shahjahan's residence at Fakirpool in the town at 2:30pm.
Announcing polls boycott, Azad called for a dawn to dusk hartal in Noakhali for Wednesday.
Meanwhile, on receiving allegations of 'irregularities', the EC postponed the elections of Senbagh municipality.
After receiving an EC letter on the decision at 2:30pm, Noakhali deputy commissioner Sirajul Islam ordered to stop voting.
Our correspondent reported that there were allegations that activists of the ruling Awami League took control of polls center and cast fake votes in at least two centres.
LAXMIPUR
AL-backed mayoral candidate Abu Taher and his supporters drove out agents of the BNP-backed candidate from 18 polling centres and took control of those, reports a correspondent.
Addressing a press conference at 4:00pm, Hasanuzzaman Chowdhury Mintu, the BNP-backed candidate, claimed Taher and his men took control of the polling centres at about 10:00am.
Announcing polls boycott, he demanded cancellation of the polls and re-election at the municipality.
Backing the allegation, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annee, BNP MP from Laxmipur, said people would not accept the election.
The local BNP announced they would enforce a half-day hartal in the district on Wednesday.
The press conference was held at Annee's residence at Ramchhari in Laxmipur.
HABIGANJ
Nearly 25 activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League snatched some ballot papers from the presiding officer at Habiganj Town Model Government Primary School centre at about 10:15am, our correspondent in Sylhet reports.
Polling was suspended for nearly one and an half hours following the ballot paper snatching.
Though voting resumed at about 11:30am, it was suspended again in half an hour as the ballot papers could not be rescued and the presiding officers were assaulted.
Mahmud Hasan, Habiganj deputy commissioner, ordered suspension of voting citing EC instruction for such cases.
Election officials said about 41 ballot papers might have been snatched.
Rapid Action Battalion was trying to nab the BCL activists.
COMILLA
Voting at Dhatishwari Government Primary School centre of Nagolkot pourasava remained suspended for about 45 minutes since 9:03am after supporters of an Awami League candidate snatched ballot papers in a bid to cast vote for their candidate.
On information, members of army, Rapid Action Battalion and police drove them out from there.
Returning officer Mohammad Rehan Uddin of the centre started taking vote at about 9:50am.
CHANDPUR
Voting was suspended in a polling centre at Sengarchar municipality election of Chandpur following an allegation of vote rigging.
Matlob North Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Returning Officer Golam Kabir suspended the voting at Sengarchar Government Primary School centre at about the noon after BNP candidate Amena Begum alleged of vote rigging at the centre.
Meanwhile, voting was suspended for about 15 minutes following a clash between the supporters of two mayoral candidates at Beshdi Government Primary School at Sengarchar that left 10 people including a policeman injured.
The voting resumed at about 11:00am after law enforcers rushed there and took the situation under control.
MOULVIBAZAR
Shaswati Nath, 55, a female councillor candidate of Sreemongol municipality of Moulvibazar died of cardiac arrest at her Dhanshiri residence at about 8:00am. The election in the municipality however was continuing.
Over 11.5 lakh voters are entitled to cast their votes to elect 42 mayors for 42 municipalities under 10 districts in Chittagong division. A total of 212 and 2,179 aspirants are contesting for the posts of mayors and councilors respectively.
Seventy-four candidates are contesting for 16 mayoral posts in 16 municipalities in four districts of Sylhet division. Over 2.96 lakh voters are entitled to exercise their franchise to elect their representatives there.
The first phase of polls was held in the municipality areas of Barisal, Khulna, Rangpur and Rajshahi last week while the second phase kicked off from Dhaka on Monday.
So far, AL-backed candidates and its rebels won 87 out of 183 mayoral posts while BNP's favourites and its rebels grabbed 76.
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