Staff Correspondent

One hundred and thirty candidates have withdrawn their candidacy from the third phase Upazila Parishad election scheduled to be held on 29 May, said the Election Commission (EC) on Monday.

Md Shariful Alam, Director (Public Relations) of the EC, due to the withdrawal of candidacy six will be elected unopposed.

Of those who have withdrawn candidacy, 73 are chairman candidates, 43 vice-chairman candidates and 14 vice-chairman candidates for posts reserved for women, he said.

Besides, six candidates who will be elected unopposed are Pirojpur’s Bhandaria upazila candidates in all 3 posts, Shariatpur’s Gosaithat upazila vice-chairman candidate and candidates if Feni’s Sonagazi and Daganbhuiyan upazila vice-chairman posts reserved for women, he added.

The Election Commission will allocate symbols for 3rd phase of Upazila Parishad polls and the candidates will be allowed to start the campaign today.

In the third phase of upazila parishad polls, 570 candidates submitted nomination papers for the chairman post, 618 for the vice-chairman post and 400 for the vice-chairman post reserved for women.

According to the EC announced schedule, the 3rd phase upazila election will be held in 112 Upazila Parishads on 29 May while the second phase of polls in 160 upazila will be held on 21 May.

Twenty-eight candidates were elected unopposed in the first phase of Upazila Parishad polls while 21 were in the second phase.

The first phase of the sixth Upazila Parishad Election was held in 139 upazilas of 59 districts in the country on Wednesday amid allegations of irregularities and poor voter turnout.