Bovine EVMs keep stretching queues before NCC polling centres

Voting at the Naraynganj City Corporation (NCC) election started at 8am on Sunday while the number of voters started to increase with time. But the voters were unable to enter inside the centres to cast their votes because of slow-going electronic voting machines.

Many of the voters claimed they were waiting in queue for hours but were unable to enter inside the booth to cast votes as the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were working slow.

Some of them were seen engaged in altercation with the law enforcers in the centres over the matter.

Around noon, almost all the centres got crowded with voters in the queue amid a festive mood.

After visiting several centres, it was found that alongside the male voters, the presence of female voters was also notable. However, the female voters alleged that they had to wait for a longer time in the queue.

The presiding officers in the polling centres said it takes more time to cast votes as the voters are unfamiliar with the EVM voting process, which resulted in the increased number of voters in the queue.

They also said many of the voters arrived in the centres without knowing their real voting centres. It also caused trouble to manage the queue.

A law enforcer member at Siddhirganh Govt Primary School said there were nine polling booths but the voters made late to cast their votes.

The polling agents of the mayoral candidates and ward councillors were also providing necessary support to the voters. However, some of the candidate supporters were also chanting slogan for their candidates.

In order to maintain law and order, the law enforcing forces took strict measures. So far, no electoral violence has been reported.