Voting in upazila election ends

Voting for the first phase of upazila election ended at around 4pm on Wednesday with a number of candidates boycotting polls.
Local units of BNP called dawn-to-dusk hartal in three upazilas for Thursday alleging ouster of their agents and voters at different centres in the upazila election.
The upazilas include: Sujanagar of Pabna, Shailkupa upazila of Jhenidah and Gournadi upazila of Barisal.
Eight BNP-backed candidates boycotted their polls in Gauranadi upazila of Barisal and Shailkupa upazila of Jhenidah district alleging ouster of their agents and voters at different centres.
The residents of 97 upazila parishads cast their votes with participation of candidates of several parties, including Awami League and BNP.
Overall 432 candidates contested for chairmen, 513 for vice chairmen, and 329 for vice chairwomen in 97 upazilas.
The day has been declared as a public holiday by the government in the polling areas.
The army and regular law enforces were deployed in the upazilas to maintain law and order.
There are 1, 64, 78,172 voters, 6,995 polling stations, and 43,290 booths in the 98 upazilas.