Published :
Updated :
Voters have started casting their ballots to elect a new representative of the Dhaka-17 parliamentary constituency.
The polls opened at 8:00 am on Monday, and voting will continue until 4:00 pm without a break, reports bdnews24.com.
The constituency spreads across Cantonment, Banani, and Gulshan, and has 124 poll centres in it.
The ruling Awami League and the main opposition party in parliament, the Jatiya Party, are contesting in the by-election. But the BNP and other parties decided against participating in the vote.
The seat was declared vacant following the death of its previous incumbent, Akbar Khan Pathan, the actor popularly known as Farooque.
But the winner of the election will only hold the seat for a month as the 12th general election will take place soon after that.
The chief election commissioner and other officials are monitoring the vote from the regulator's Agargaon headquarters via CCTV cameras.
Voting began at 8 am at the Dhaka Cantonment Shishumangal centre. At least 2,409 male voters are listed to cast their ballots at four booths in the centre, said Presiding Officer Md Abdul Mukit.
Adequate police and Ansar personnel have been deployed to ensure security at the poll centre, said Inspector Md Mamun. Voting has taken place without incident so far, he added.
However, the voter turnout seemed quite low in the morning as only a few voters were seen at the poll centre.