Preparations have been made to hold the elections to local government bodies and the unrepresented Laxmipur-2 parliamentary constituency amid the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh.
In the first phase of the staggered elections, voting will be held in 204 Union Parishads (UPs) and two municipalities on Monday. The polls will remain open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, reports bdnews24.com.
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used to cast ballots in Laxmipur-2 along with two municipalities and 20 UPs.
As the BNP has opted to stay away from the elections, candidates of the party will contest the polls as independents.
Meanwhile, the Laxmipur-2 was declared vacant after its incumbent Kazi Shahid Islam alias Papul was jailed for human trafficking and money laundering in Kuwait.
Nur Uddin Chowdhury Nayan of the Awami League and Sheikh Moha Faiz Ullah Shipon of the Jatiya Party are vying for the seat.
However, the build-up to both the local government and parliamentary elections have been subdued over the last few days.
The EC has decided to hold the first phase of the vote in areas where the risk of coronavirus infection is relatively low.
Voting will gradually be held in other parts once the coronavirus situation improves.
The elections were initially set to be held on Apr 11 but had to be postponed due to an alarming rise in coronavirus infections. It was later rescheduled for Jun 21.
Voting in 163 UPs and nine municipalities had to be postponed as the second wave of pandemic continued to batter the country's border districts.
