<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Voting in the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) election began on Thursday (May 25, 2023) using electronic voting machines (EVMs) in all polling stations in a peaceful manner.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The voting began around 8 am and will continue till 4 pm without any break.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eight candidates are contesting for mayoral posts in the election and there are 248 councillors and 79 female councilor candidates.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A total of 11,79,476 voters are eligible to vote and of them, 5,92,762 are men and 5,86,696 are women, and the number of transgender people is 18.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Election Commissioner Rashida Sultana said that Gazipur City Corporation voting will be held in a free and fair environment and voters can cast their vote peacefully.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The commissioner said this while exchanging views with journalists after a meeting with magistrates on maintaining law and order in the Gazipur City Corporation election at Gazipur Circuit House on Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The election commission will monitor the election through CCTVs, which were set up in all polling stations.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>Tight security</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A total of 13,000 law enforcers have been deployed to maintain law and order during the election, said Commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Molla Nazrul Islam on Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“ 20-22 members of law enforcement agencies will perform duty at each centre. I hope a free and fair election will be held with the efforts of all amid foolproof security,” he told UNB.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Twenty platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members have been deployed alongside 30 teams of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Ansar members, said Returning Officer Faridul Islam.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mobile teams will be there in 57 wards while 19 striking forces led by 19 magistrates will remain vigilant at the polling centers. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>