The pace of voting in many centres across the country has not improved significantly from a slow start in the morning.

Dhaka University's Institute of Social Welfare and Research in Dhaka-8, a total of 419 votes were cast out of 3,741 in the first four hours.

Sakib Hasan, presiding officer of the centre, said the total voter turnout till the time was 11 percent but could not give a reason for low voter turnout.

In the same constituency, the number of votes cast at the DU Annex Building polling centre increased throughout the morning.

As of 12:00pm, 258 votes were cast since polling began at 8:00am.

The initial turnout was slow, with only 58 votes cast in the first two hours out of a total of 2,002 registered voters.

However, the pace has picked up significantly since then, Presiding Officer Md Dulal Mia said.

During a visit to the polling station, our correspondent found two polling agents, one representing Awami League and the other from the Tarikat Foundation.

In Gazipur-2, our correspondent visited the two centres at Rani Bilashmoni Govt Boys High School and Kazi Azimuddin College in Joydebpur area and found that voter turnout crossed 15 percent at the centres.

Abu Kaiser, presiding officer at Rani Bilashmoni Govt Boys High School, said 17.50 percent vote was cast at the centre till 12:00pm.

A total of 665 votes out of 3,750 were cast in the first four hours. In the first two hours, the percentage was eight, he added.

At Kazi Azimuddin College, the voter turnout was 15.82 percent till 12:00pm, said Golam Mostafa Sujon, presiding officer of the centre.

A total of 236 votes out of 1,662 were cast here in the first four hours.

At four centres in Shamsul Haque School and College in Demra, which falls under Dhaka-5, 1,235 out of a total 10,135 votes were cast till noon

Presiding officers of the centres GM Abdul Awal Bhuiyan,  Ali Haider Al Masum Mridha, Md Golam Mawla and Nasir Uddin Ahmed Khan told The Daily Star around 12:25 that the voting turnout was increasing with time.

In Sylhet-6, the total number of voters under Panchakhanda Horgovinda School polling centre is 2,505, but only 369 people exercised their franchise till 12:00pm, said presiding officer Ariful Rahman.

"A total of 14 percent vote was cast -- five percent in the first two hours and nine percent in the next two," he said.

Agents of Jatiya Party and Trinamool BNP were not present at all polling booths.

Meanwhile, in the Edward Institution Center in Mymensingh-4, a total of 1,072 votes out of 5,004 were cast till 12:00pm, said Preisiding Officer Mohammad Tariqul Islam Bhuiyan.

At Mahtab Uddin Government College centre in Jhenaidah's Kaliganj, 752 votes out of 2,578 votes were cast till 12:00pm, said presiding officer of the centre Aktaruzzaman.