Abrar Hussain: Amidst vote-rigging and vandalism allegations, the Khulna city polls concluded yesterday, as voting was postponed at 3 polling stations according to Returning Officer Yunus Ali.
The polls began at 8am and continued till 4pm without break. Khulna residents reportedly voted at 289 centers to elect the KCC mayor.
“The voting was going on peacefully since morning. Some Awami League leaders and supporters arrived suddenly, stamped ballot papers, stuffed the boxes with fake votes and left the centre,” said Kakoli Khan, a BNP polling agent.
Supporters of the BNP candidate accused ruling party men of filling ballot boxes with fake votes. The allegations of fake votes by Awami League activists incited vandalism in the city. BNP supporters protested the vote-rigging by destroying several electoral camps outside the polling centre.
31 wards were assigned for general councilors while 10 were reserved for women. A total of 5 candidates contested for the mayoral post, 148 for general councilors and 39 for reserved councilors. Electronic voting machines were used at two polling stations where the voter number exceeded 3,000.