KCC polls: Slow EVM voting dismays voters

The polls to Khulna City Corporation (KCC) is underway using the electronic voting machine (EVM).

However, voters are left waiting in long queues as voting in this process is slow.

After visiting the Islamabad Collegiate School polling centre of ward number 19, this correspondent witnessed long queues of female voters.

Jahanara Begum, a voter of this ward living in the Bismillah Mahalla area, said, "I came here early, at 7am, thinking I could go home early after casting vote. It is now 9am and we are still in the queue."

Shahinur Begum of the same area said, "If I had known the situation will be like this, I would have come in the afternoon."

The total number of voters in this centre is 2,094. However, only 166 votes were cast till 9am on Monday. Nearly 200 voters were still waiting in queues.

This correspondent observed a similar situation in other polling centres as well.

 Islamabad Collegiate School polling centre's Presiding Officer Mithun Sarkar said, "Each voter has to be shown the process of voting. That is why it took time to pass the voters in the first hour. The number of votes is increasing gradually."

A total of 173 candidates, including five for mayoral, 134 for 31 general councillors' and 39 for 10 reserved female councillors' posts, are contesting in the KCC polls.

/KN/MHK/