Elections suspended in 19 upazilas

The Election Commission has postponed elections in 19 upazila municipalities in the country due to the threat of flooding and damage caused by Cyclone Remal in these constituencies.

The list includes 18 coastal upazilas and one hill upazila, Election Commission Secretary Md Jahangir Alam told the media on Monday.

“In some areas, water levels have risen due to the storm, other places are without electricity and some have been cut off from power. For this reason, the decision was taken to postpone the elections.”

The third phase of the sixth Upazila Parishad elections will be held on Wednesday. 19 Upazilas have been removed from the list, but 90 will still go to the polls.

The upazilas where polling has been postponed are Sharankhola, Morelganj, Mongla, Koyra, Paikgacha, Dumuria, Gaurnadi, Agoiljhara, Patuakhali Sadar, Mirzaganj, Dumki, Mathbaria, Tazumuddin, Lalmohan, Rajapur, Kathalia, Bamna, Pathorghata and Baghaichhari.

“The decision to suspend these elections was based on information sent to us by the local administration on the ground,” the EC secretary said. “If further information about other upazilas comes before the elections, they can also be suspended.”

In the local elections, 485 of 495 upazilas nationwide will go to the polls.

The first phase of elections was held on May 8 in 139 upazilas. The average voter turnout was 36 percent and 28 candidates were elected unopposed.

The second phase took place on May 21 and voter turnout was about 38 percent.

The third phase of voting is scheduled for May 29, while the fourth will take place on June 5.

The Awami League has not fielded any party candidates in the local elections and has instead banned its members from running for the post of party chairman under the symbol of a boat. The party leaders are running as independents.

The BNP is boycotting the election, but some party leaders have gone against their wishes and also want to run as independents.