Sammilito Nagorik Committee-backed mayoral candidate Monirul Hoque Sakku won the Comilla City Corporation election on Thursday, reports ATN Bangla.
According to unofficial results, Sakku bagged 65,740 votes while his nearest contestant ruling Awami League supported Afzal Khan 35,429 in all 65 centres of CCC, the private television channel added.
Earlier, the maiden election to the CCC ended peacefully as soon as the clock struck 4. The polling began at 8:00 in the morning with voters casting their votes in the electronic voting machines.
This is the first time in the country that voters in all centres used the voting machines.
During the voting, the two front-running mayoral candidates expressed their satisfaction over the peaceful environment of the election.
After casting his vote at Hocchamia High School polling centre around 9:30am, Sakku expressed his satisfaction over the election saying, "The voting is going on peacefully and if the peaceful trend continues till the end, I will accept the people's mandate whatever it may be."
Meanwhile, Afzal exercised his franchise at Comilla Modern High School around 9:45am and left the centre showing a V-sign.
He also expressed his satisfaction over the peaceful atmosphere that was prevailing at the voting centres.
"The voting is going on tranquilly and the people are not facing difficulties while casting their votes using the EVM system," Afzal said.
A contented Afzal also said he will accept whatever the result may be.
BACKGROUND
Unprecedented security measures were taken with deployment of over 3,000 lawmen and they were seen patrolling in and around the city to ensure law and order during the polling time. They will be on election duty till tomorrow.
Election officials earlier said 1,200 Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) personnel, more than 2,000 police members, 150 members of Bangladesh Border Guard and Armed Police Battalion, 27 executive magistrates and nine judicial magistrates will work throughout the day to ensure free and fair voting.
A total of 1, 69,273 voters, including 86,074 females, are on the voters' roll to elect their first-ever city mayor from among nine candidates and 36 ward councillors, including nine reserved female councillors' seats, from among 287 contestants.
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