Municipal polls
Voter turnout highest under this EC
UNB
The just concluded municipal election has seen the highest turnout of voters under the incumbent Election Commission which was constituted in February 2012 headed by Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, reports UNB. Some 74 percent voters exercised their franchise in the December-30 municipal polls, which is higher than that of any other major elections held under this Commission. According to statistics provided by the Election Commission, the turnout of voters was 73.92 percent in the municipal polls as a total of 4,454,444 out of some 60.25 lakh voters applied their voting rights in favour of mayoral candidates in 207 municipalities whose election results were unofficially announced.
However, 78,327 votes were cancelled, which is 1.75 percent of the total votes cast in the election. In the elections to three city corporations in Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong held on April 28, 2015, the turnout of voters was 44.02 percent as 26.54 lakh people out of 6,029,282 exercised their franchise. The voter turnout was 37.30 percent in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) election while it was 48.57 percent in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and 47.89 percent in the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC).
In the five-phase countrywide upazila elections held in February and March last year, the average turnout of voters was 61.5 percent. The turnout was 62.44 percent in the first phase election held in 97 upazilas, 63.31 percent in the second phase in 116 upazilas, 63.52 percent in the third phase in 81 upazilas, 56.12 percent in the fourth phase in 91 upazilas and 60.83 percent in the fifth phase in 73 upazilas.
