The Election Commission will deploy troops across the country 15 days ahead of the voting day set for Dec 30.
“After Dec 15, a small team of army will work with the police. Each district will have a small team of troops. They will coordinate with other law-enforcement agencies and magistrates,” said Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda at a special meeting with law-enforcement agencies in Dhaka on Thursday.
However, the CEC did not clarify how long the army will remain deployed.
The CEC instructed law-enforcement agencies not to harass presiding officers ahead of the upcoming election.
His instruction came in response to the allegations raised by the BNP that the law-enforcement agencies harassed the supporters and activists in the name of verification.
“We did not instruct you to do this. Don’t do this. This is an embarrassment. We did not want this,” said the CEC.
The inspector general of police, metropolitan commissioners, deputy inspector general, and superintendent of police were present at the event.
Putting emphasis on the role of security forces, Huda said, “Don’t do anything that makes the election dubious. The onus is on you to ensure a free, fair and credible election.”
He assured the law enforcement agencies of all the support from the EC during the polls.
The law enforcers were also asked to do their jobs with due diligence and without fair.
“We have full confidence in you. But the commission will monitor your activities. We have already received some complaints. But no action will be taken against you without verification.”