Nearly 33 percent votes cast till 12 noon, no polling station closed: EC

Voting is underway in a festive atmosphere across the country in the ongoing elections. The Election Commission (EC) has said that an average of 32.88 percent votes have been cast across the country till 12 noon.

Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed confirmed the information from the Election Building in Agargaon in the capital on Thursday (February 12) afternoon.

The EC Secretary said that this average calculation was obtained based on the information received from 32,789 centers out of a total of 42,651 polling stations across the country. According to the information from the centers till 12 noon, 32.88 percent votes have been cast. Voter turnout is slightly higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

Expressing satisfaction with the voting environment, the Secretary said that so far, there has been no situation to suspend voting in any part of the country. Voting has not been suspended at any polling station across the country. Although there were reports of isolated chaos at some centers, no major untoward incident occurred due to the prompt action of law enforcement agencies.

The Secretary further assured that there is no threat of major sabotage and voters are exercising their right to vote safely.

The Election Commission has informed that it is maintaining round-the-clock contact with the District Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and Returning Officers at the field level. Wherever there is news of tension, additional forces are being sent there to bring the situation under control.