Gulshan residents start their day a little late during winter: Arafat on low turnout

Voter turnout in polling centres in Gulshan is lower because residents who live in the area start their day a little late during winter, said Mohammad Ali Arafat, the Awami League (AL) candidate for the Dhaka-17 constituency. 

"In the cold morning, residents of Gulshan wake up a bit late, which is natural. We are quite optimistic that a satisfactory number of votes will be cast," he said after casting his vote at 10:40am today (7 January).

"I have information about many centres where voters are lining up to vote. Polling centres in Karail and Kalachandpur have long queues of voters," he pointed out when asked about the low voter turnout. 

"Around 1 lakh voters of Dhaka-17 have migrated elsewhere. Since they did not update their NID info, they remained the voter of the constituency," he said.

"Only 60% of the votes will be cast due to this," he added. 

"Those who are causing terror are actually talking about democracy and the right to vote. But, they are snatching away people's right to live," said Arafat.

"Despite threats and calls for vote boycott, a lot of votes will be cast. People will vote to say 'no' to those advocating for boycotting the election," he added.

"In today's election, I personally believe, and welcome positively, those contesting with different symbols, whether independent or from other parties. They are in favour of democracy and elections," he added.

Arafat said, "Winning the election is not our only goal. Defeating the anti-freedom forces who encourage vote boycott is our aim."