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EC seeks troops from Dec 12

Deployment will be made for 20 days to ensure poll security

Staff Correspondent
The armed forces will be in the field along with other law enforcement agencies for 20 days from December 12 to maintain law and order before and after the upcoming parliamentary and upazila parishad elections.
A high-powered meeting of the Election Commission (EC), the government, armed forces and different law enforcement and intelligence agencies yesterday took
the decision on troopsdeployment.
Chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda, the meeting decided to engage the army, navy, air force, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), armed police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Ansar in election duties six days before the parliamentary election scheduled forDecember 18.
The two election commissioners, home secretary, inspector
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general of police (IGP), BDR director general and senior officials of the Armed Forces Division, security and intelligence agencies attended the meeting at the EC Secretariat conference room.
The army was deployed 14 days before the polling day in 2001, 18 days ahead of the June 1996 election and 23 days before the polling day in 1991.
Over 50,000 army personnel were deployed to maintain law and order before and after the 2001 election.
Asked about the number of army personnel to be deployed this time, EC Secretary Humayun Kabir said the Armed Forces Division would decide that and the home ministry would soon issue a circular on deployment of armed forces.
The troops will be working to maintain law and order until December 31. The upazila parishad elections are scheduled for December 28 and the EC had wanted the armed forces to stay in the field until January 3.
The meeting decided that two platoons of army personnel would be deployed at each upazila or thana as strike forces and patrol the entire constituency as a "show-off" force ahead of and two days after the polls. They will not enter any poling station or will not accept any duty during ballot paper counting, meetingsources said.
"The armed forces will assist other law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order if returning officers seek their assistance," says a guideline prepared by the EC.
As the Representation of People Order (RPO) empowered them in 2001, the armed forces will have the authority to arrest anyone on the polling day without any warrant and act against any activity that
goes against the electoral code of conduct.
The police will work to maintain law and order inside the poling station and ensure security of election officials and transportation of electoral materials. The ansar and VDP members will work under police directives.
According to the EC guideline, the customs and immigration will take up necessary measures to prevent persons and substances that might be threatening to the elections from entering the country.
"Everyone will have to ensure enforcement of laws properly considering the significance of the elections. Any negligence in duty will not be acceptable." the EC said.
Meeting sources said it was decided that the law enforcement agencies would prepare their own budgets for the election duties and forward the budgets to the finance ministry.
The EC Secretariat has a block allocation for security purpose. Of total Tk 400 crore allocated for holding the parliamentary and upazila polls, the EC Secretariat has prepared a budget of over Tk 185 crore to meet the expenditure of conducting the two polls.