Residents in 24 municipalities across Bangladesh will go to the polls today to cast their ballots in the first phase of the country's municipal elections amid coronavirus pandemic.

Ballots will reportedly be cast using electronic voting machines (EVM) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The elections, which will be mainly contested by candidates from the ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has been relatively subdued this time due to the pandemic. Executive and judicial magistrates along with the members of various law enforcement agencies, including Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police and the Ansar paramilitary auxiliary force, are monitoring the elections.

Candidates from Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Jatiya Ganatantrik Party are vying for the post of mayor in the 24 municipal areas. Independent candidates are also taking part in the election

There are a total of 329 municipalities in the country. The law requires the local government body to conduct polls within 90 days before the end of a term.

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