Observers say CCC polls peaceful

17 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Unb, Chittagong

Election observers yesterday expressed satisfaction over the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) polls held yesterday. “The overall environment during the polls was peaceful. Supporters of both mayoral candidates were mostly calm and quiet,” co-chairman of Election Working Group Abdul Awal told UNB. Some 180 members of Election Working Group under 25 teams observed the overall atmosphere of nearly 250 polling centres, where they did not see any major irregularities. Four organisations including NRDS, Odhikar and IED under the Election Working Group monitored the polls. Awal, however, said a few voters in some polling centres of the city could not exercise their voting rights due to a mismatch between the voter list and their identity cards. “The election commission should look into this matter,” he said. On the other hand, Executive Director of Democracy Watch Taleya Rahman said the CCC polls ended peacefully. “I was worried about a repetition of Bhola, which didn't happen here ultimately,” Taleya told UNB, referring to the Bhola-3 by-election that took place earlier in the year. Three teams of Democracy Watch observed the polls in 60 polling centers. She appreciated the EC's initiative in introducing the electronic voting system at Jamalkhan ward. “Turnout is over 60 percent,” she said.