Dhaka Bureau: The Election Commission (EC) has sent a letter to the Armed Forces Department asking for army deployment to keep the election environment fair. The army will be in the field from December 29 to January 10.
Monday (December 18): EC Deputy Secretary. This request was made in a letter signed by Atiyar Rahman.
The letter said that all preparations have been made to hold the 12th National Assembly elections in a free, fair, impartial, and peaceful manner and to maintain the law and order situation.
The letter states that armed forces will be deployed in 300 constituencies from December 29 to January 10 (including travel time) to assist the local administration in order to ensure peace and order control before, during, and after the polling. The commission has taken the decision.
For this purpose, in the context of discussions with the Election Commission, a small advance team of the armed forces can be sent to each district to collect basic information on the communication system, physical infrastructure, and electoral environment conditions of the electoral area a few days before the election, as mentioned in the letter.
It further states that the armed forces shall be governed in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure and other provisions and in accordance with the provisions of clauses 7 and 10 of the Instructions Regarding Aid to the Civil Power issued by the Ministry of Defense. The deployed armed forces will assist the civil administration in maintaining law and order under the Criminal Procedure Code on the advice of the Executive Magistrate in election work.
Earlier, the Election Commission had a meeting with the Principal Staff of the Army on the evening of December 11. After that meeting, the Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Department, Lt. General Waqar-uz-Zaman, said that if the President’s permission is received, the army personnel will go to the polls on December 29.
In view of this, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Kazi Habibul Awal, requested the deployment of the army in a meeting with the President at Bangabhaban on Sunday (December 17).
