In the first phase of the country’s sixth upazila parishad elections, voters began exercising their franchise at 8am on Wednesday in 139 upazilas across 59 districts. 

Balloting is scheduled to continue until 4 pm without any recess.

People queue up to cast their votes at a polling centre in Tangail in the first phase of the sixth upazila parishad elections on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Photo: Dhaka Tribune

Hours before the polling commenced, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on Tuesday sought the cooperation of everyone concerned to ensure that the upazila parishad polls were free, fair and neutral.

As of Tuesday afternoon, some 1,630 candidates, including nearly 570 chairmen post contenders, were in the electoral race in the 139 upazilas, fighting for a total of 417 posts. 

Prior to the start of the elections, the Election Commission had estimated more than 28 million voters across the 139 upazilas.