1st phase polls in 69 upazilas of Rangpur, M'singh, Sylhet divisions

On the first phase of the fifth upazila elections, voting is likely to be held in 69 upazilas of around half of the districts in Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions.

Besides, according to the proposals of the Election Commission, the election is also likely to take place on the same day in all the upazilas where the tenure of the parishads will expire within March 21.

The upazila elections will be completed in five phases in all the 481 upazilas in the country. The developments came to be known from the minutes of the election commission meeting held yesterday.

Meanwhile, EC Secretary Helal Uddin has already told the media that the first phase election was proposed to be held on March 8 or 9.

Besides, second phase of the elections in 125 upazilas was proposed to be held on March 18, third phase in 111 upazilas on March 24, fourth phase in 159 upazilas on March 31 and the fifth phase in 17 upazilas after Ramadan in June.

It also came to light from the proceeding of the meeting that in the second phase, election is likely to be held in all the upazilas of more than half of the districts of Rajshahi, Chattogram and Khulna divisions. Voting will also take place on the same day in all the upazila where parishad tenure will end within March 26.

According to the proposal, in the third phase, elections will be held in all the upazilas of rest of the districts in Khulna, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, and Sylhet. Besides, polls in all the upazilas where parishad tenure will expire on March 30 will also be held on the same day.

In the fourth phase, voting will take place in the upazilas of all the districts of Dhaka and Barishal along with rest of the districts of Chattogram division. Besides, in all the upazilas throughout the country where the tenure of the parishad will expire within June 19 will take place on that day, according to the proposal.

Voting in the upazilas where the first meeting of the parishad took place after June 20, 2014 will be held after Eid-ul-Fitr, as per the proposal.