The much-hyped Municipal Polls on 234 municipalities ended amid sporadic violence across the polling centres.

The voting started from about 8:00am at 3,555 polling centres which will continue till 4:00pm without any break across the country.

Voting in 31 polling centres of 12 districts have been postponed following allegations of vote rigging, capturing voting stations and forced balloting on Wednesday.

BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said Awami League activists had rigged vote without any barrier to take the municipality election result in their party’s favour.

While Awami League (AL) organising secretary Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Wednesday alleged that BNP was trying to create anarchy in the country centring the municipal elections.

Earlier, BNP chairperson’s advisor Osman Faruque on Wednesday morning said BNP ‘will not boycott the ongoing municipality elections under any circumstances’.

According to Election Commission’s statistics, 12,171 candidates – 945 mayoral, some 8,746 general councillors and over 2,480 women councillor contenders in reserved seats – have contested the polls for 3,158 posts that include 234 mayoral, 727 women (reserved seats) councillor and 2,182 general councillor posts in the election.