Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has expressed concern over the threat of ‘armed criminals’ who he says could disrupt the Dhaka city elections.
Speaking to the media at the Secretariat on Wednesday, the road transport minister said, “The election environment is quite good as of now. But the worry is that outsiders, including armed ones, are being mobilised ahead of voting day.”
He urged the Election Commission to look into the matter immediately and said: “We have received information that armed criminals may cause problems on voting day in the name of guarding polling centres, reports bdnews24.com.
The road transport and bridges minister warned that voters could be prevented from turning up in polling stations and called on the EC to take extra precautions.
Asked which party was gathering the outsiders, Quader said, “We’ve information that the BNP is bringing in outsiders from across the country, including notorious criminals and convicts. This may become an obstacle to a fair election.”
“The law enforcement agency is working with the EC in this context. They’ll follow the EC's directives,” he said.