Khulna city polls: Low voter turnout at many centres

As the day unfolded, the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) election witnessed a decline in voter turnout, with many polling centres looking deserted.

Talking to presiding officers, UNB‍‍`s Khulna correspondent reported that on average, 11 percent votes were cast as of 11 am.

Shaheed Suhrawardy College centre under ward 25 witnessed a particularly low voter turnout with a voting rate of 9.02 percent. Ranjit Kumar Biswas, presiding officer of the centre, said only 135 votes had been cast by 11 am, despite a total of 1,493 registered voters.

Similarly, under ward 18, the Darul Quran Siddiquia Kamil Madrasa centre also saw a low voter turnout with a rate of 10.25 percent. Mohammad Manik, presiding officer of the centre, said that out of 1,658 registered voters, a mere 170 had cast their votes by 11 am.

In ward 19, the National High School centre reported an 11 percent voter turnout. Two presiding officers from ward 27 said that the PTI women‍‍`s centre had witnessed a 7.02 percent polling rate, while the men‍‍`s centre had recorded a 9 percent turnout by 11 am.

However, an exception was observed at the Khulna College centre, in ward 17. Out of 2,868 registered voters at that centre, 533 had cast their votes by 11 am, reflecting a polling rate of 18.58 percent.

A total of five candidates are vying for the mayoral post in Khulna city, 134 for 31 general councillors, and 39 for 10 reserved female councillors‍‍` posts.

SM Khurshid Ahmed Tona in ward 13 and ZA Mahmud Don in ward 24 were elected unopposed.

The total number of registered voters in Khulna City Corporation is 5,35,528.