Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda says he is in support of troop deployment during the upcoming parliamentary elections, but says the Election Commission has yet to reach a final decision on the matter.
“Troops should be deployed for the coming national elections,” he told the media following a discussion at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka on Sunday. “Troops had been deployed during previous general elections.”
“I, personally, have never stated that troops will not be deployed. But I alone cannot make the decision. The EC is composed of five other members. We will take the decision together.”
The CEC said that though he supports troop deployment for national elections, he would not be in support of it during local government elections, as quoted from a local news agency report.
“I do not think we should deploy troops for local government elections,” he said.
The CEC, Awami League Presidium member Muhammad Faruq Khan and BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan spoke at the discussion on troop deployment organised by the Election Working Group for the coming national parliamentary elections.