EC says no army deployment planned for local government elections

The Election Commission (EC) today said it has no plans to deploy armed forces in the upcoming local government elections, as it stepped up preparations for the five-tier polls.

The commission has met the heads of three law enforcement agencies within the past week and instructed them to begin preparations for the elections, including the union parishad, municipality, upazila, city corporation and zila parishad polls.

The comments came after BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui met the CEC to discuss preparations for the local government elections.

Siddiqui said the EC had given the BGB an early indication to begin preparations and training.

He said the discussions lasted around 20 minutes and indicated that the army might not be involved in the polls.

“That means BGB could have a bigger responsibility. We have performed our duties well in past elections, and we want to ensure this one is conducted smoothly, neutrally, and transparently,” he said.

The EC's security preparations began last week with meetings with the heads of the police, Ansar and VDP.

Inspector General of Police Md Ali Hossain Fakir met the CEC on August 18 to discuss security and coordination. He said the commission had asked the police to prepare a report on the law enforcement situation across the country and that a law enforcement cell would be formed in coordination with the EC.

The following day, Ansar and VDP Director General Major General Abdul Motaleb Sazzad Mahmud met the CEC and discussed preparations for the local government polls.

CEC AMM Nasir Uddin said violence has historically been higher in local elections and law enforcement agencies will therefore have greater responsibility.

“We are mindful of that and will mobilise law enforcement accordingly,” he said, adding that the EC, police, BGB and other agencies must remain prepared to ensure the violence is kept under control.

For comparison, 970,948 security personnel were deployed for eight days during the 13th national election on February 12, including 100,003 army personnel alongside members of the police, BGB, Coast Guard, Rab, Ansar and VDP.