Abul Khair Abdullah became the mayor of Barishal City by getting 87 thousand 752 votes in the `boat` symbol according to the results of the electronic voting machine (EVM).
Returning officer Humayun Kabir announced the result unofficially at Barishal Shilpakala Academy today evening.
According to the announced results, his nearest rival Islami Andolan Bangladesh Mufti Syed Muhammad Faizul Karim received 34 thousand 345 votes in the symbol of `hand fan`.
Polling for city elections started from 8 am. The election ended at 4 pm in a largely peaceful atmosphere without any major clashes. After counting the votes, the results were announced in the evening.
7 people contested for the post of Mayor in Barishal City Corporation Election. Besides, 118 general and 42 reserved councilor candidates contested in 30 wards of the city. Voters cast their votes for their preferred candidates at 126 centers in the city.
30 Executive Magistrates and 10 Judicial Magistrates are in charge of overseeing the elections and maintaining law and order. In addition, 6,500 personnel of the law enforcement and security forces were on duty. 30 mobile forces worked in the polling station, including 10 platoon BGB members, police, APBN, and Ansar, 10 striking force, and 3 reserve striking force. They were accompanied by 16 RAB teams.
1,100 CC cameras were installed in polling station monitoring. Votes were taken in 1,340 EVMs.
On July 25, 2002, Barishal was upgraded from a municipality to a city corporation. Its area has increased from 25 square kilometers to 58 square kilometers. The current population of Barishal City is around 6 lakh. Awami League`s Shawkat Hossain Hiran won as the first mayor of the city in 2008. Then in 2013 BNP`s Ahsan Habib Kamal and in 2018 candidate Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah were elected mayors.
