First a little bit of background. Bangladesh is a big country from a population standpoint. Dhaka, the capital has 15-16 million people. Chittagong, the second biggest city has 7.5 million. But after these two cities the rest are really minor population wise. Khulna, which is the third largest city, has just over a million people. The other three, where mayoral elections were held yesterday, have less than a million, therefore you can call them ‘second tier cities.’
The local elections were important, just because the results could reflect a nationwide erosion of support for the ruling Awami League party six months ahead of general elections. Any vote against an Awami League candidate could be seen as a verdict against the government's performance.
While the election went mostly smoothly, there was some violence preceding it. An activist campaigning for a Barisal candidate has been shot and supporters of two candidates clashed in Rajshahi. Turnout is usually high in elections in this country and this one was no exception.
The pictures below are from the elections day in Rajshahi.
Most of the stations were gender segregated, which was something interesting for me to observe. My enthusiasm at the sight of long lines at the women booths dissipated when I understood the reason behind it. Literacy rate is lower among women, therefore it took longer to explain the process to them. Sad, but true.
A polling official with the voting materials. You can see the ballot boxes. They are transparent and seal easily with the plastic zippers, both anti-fraud measures. When voting finishes, the flap on the top also closes and locks with a plastic zipper.
A close-up on the ballots. There was one ballot for the position of mayor, one for the council, and one being reserved for women. As in previous elections, the ballots use symbols to represent the candidates so that illiterate people can vote. Outside, all the election posters feature the candidate’s picture together with his or her symbol so you know to vote for “lock” or “pineapple”.
The pictures below are from the elections day in Rajshahi.
Most of the stations were gender segregated, which was something interesting for me to observe. My enthusiasm at the sight of long lines at the women booths dissipated when I understood the reason behind it. Literacy rate is lower among women, therefore it took longer to explain the process to them. Sad, but true.
A polling official with the voting materials. You can see the ballot boxes. They are transparent and seal easily with the plastic zippers, both anti-fraud measures. When voting finishes, the flap on the top also closes and locks with a plastic zipper.
A close-up on the ballots. There was one ballot for the position of mayor, one for the council, and one being reserved for women. As in previous elections, the ballots use symbols to represent the candidates so that illiterate people can vote. Outside, all the election posters feature the candidate’s picture together with his or her symbol so you know to vote for “lock” or “pineapple”.
No comments:
Post a Comment