The first-ever Gazipur City Corporation election yesterday saw voter turnout lower than expected, despite all the media hype and vigorous campaigns by the two major political parties for their favourites.

An estimated 60 to 65 percent of 10.26 lakh voters had cast their ballots by 4:00pm as the polls closed in the industrial city, the returning officer told journalists.

The figure was higher in the June 15 elections to four city corporations -around 73 percent in Barisal, 69 percent in Khulna, 76 percent in Rajshahi and around 73 percent in Sylhet.

At the 2008 parliamentary election, 82.70 to 90.13 percent voters participated in the polling of all the five Gazipur constituencies.

Election officers and locals say the turnout was not satisfactory yesterday mainly because garment workers, who make up a major portion of voters, left the areas Thursday night getting two days' holiday. Secondly, the voters who migrated for jobs are still on the list.

AtLaxmipura Purba Para Hossainia Madrasa centre around 3:45pm, Presiding Officer Nurul Amin told this correspondent that the total number of voters in his centre was 3,408 while 1,400 had cast ballots.

Most of the voters in the area are "floating" garment

workers. Whenever they have a day off, they go to their village homes, he added.

A t Ch a n d o n a Government Primary School, Presiding Officer Hasan Hafizur Rahman said the attendance at his centre was as low as 59pc since a majority of the voters had left the area to take up jobs elsewhere.

The presiding officer at Salna Islamia Fazil Madrasa said only 1,550 voters from a total of2,796 had showed up at this centre. As in Chandona school centre, many voters have migrated elsewhere for reasons of employment

Mahmuda Akhter, a

garment worker, told this correspondent that the garment workers were reluctant to take pains to go to the polling centres. They even do not collect new voter ID cards when they change residence.

PresidingOfficerAbuSalek at MA Majid High School said out of a total of 2,000 voters, only 1,125 could make it to the polling centre He said most of the voters were male and lacked enthusiasm.

Md Omar, a polling officer at the centre, said many could not cast their ballots as their names and numbers in the voter slips supplied by the candidates were wrong.