After hectic campaigns for votes amid festivity, candidates are ready to face the final test in the polls to Rajshahi and Sylhet city corporations with the voting scheduled for tomorrow.

Voting in the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) and Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) polls will begin at 8:00am with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and continue till 4:00pm without any break amid tight security.

Candidates conducted all-out electioneering on the last day of the campaign on Monday seeking voters’ support with lofty promises.

Four contestants are vying for the mayoral post in Rajshahi. Besides, there are some 112 candidates in the race for general councillor and 46 for reserved women councillor posts in 30 wards of the city.

Since Islami Andolan Bangladesh candidate Hafez Maulana Murshid Alam withdrew over alleged attack on his party candidate in Barishal, the race for mayor post has turned one-sided.

Local political observers said Awami League candidate AHM Khairuzzaman Liton will secure a huge victory in the polls with Boat symbol.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Liton hoped that over 60 percent voters of the city will exercise their franchise despite Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has boycotted the polls.

“There’re general councillor and reserved women councillor candidates. All of them will bring their voters to centres. As a candidate of Awami League, I can say that the leaders and workers of Awami League will exercise their franchise. I’m expecting the participation of more than 60 percent voters,” he said.

Jatiya Party mayoral candidate Saiful Islam Swapan said a free and fair election will not be held through EVMs. “The people have understood what kind of election will be held through EVMs. I’ve requested the central leaders to allow me to withdraw my candidacy,” he said. Saiful was struggling to unite his party leaders since the beginning of campaign.

The total number of voters in this city is 351,982. Adequate members of police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Ansar and Armed Police Battalion have been deployed in the two cities to maintain the law and order.

Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Commissioner Anisur Rahman said out of 155 polling stations in the city, 148 have been identified as important and seven as general.

The competition between Awami League runner Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury and Jatiya Party candidate Nazrul Islam Babul for mayoral post has turned interesting in Sylhet. Islami Andolan Bangladesh candidate Maulana Mahmudul Hasan has withdrawn from the polls respecting his party decision.

The AL and Jatiya Party candidates passed a very busy day on Monday conducting campaign amid inclement weather.

On the last day of campaign, the mayoral candidates tried to reach as many voters as possible by participating in a number of public meetings while councillor candidates’ intention was to reach out to all voters directly.

Both the AL and Jatiya Party contestants placed 21-point electoral manifestos to attract voters. The AL candidate appeared in more rallies than the Jatiya Party contestant in the election campaign. Babul accused Anwaruzzaman of destabilising the electoral environment by bringing outsiders to the city.

Awami League Presidium member Syeda Zebunnesa Haque, Joint Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak, and Organising Secretaries Ahmed Hossain and Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel conducted campaign for Anwaruzzaman.

Central leaders of Awami League’s associate bodies, including Jubo League, Bangladesh Chhatra League and Swechchhasebak League, also took part in the campaign on the last day, while many local Jatiya Party leaders were seen campaigning for Babul.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) Sudip Das said they have identified 132 out of 190 polling stations as ‘critical’.

Currently, the city has a total of 486,605 voters. Apart from eight mayoral candidates, 273 general councillor candidates in 42 wards and 87 reserved women councillor candidates in 14 reserved wards are contesting the Sylhet city election.