Biswajit Mondal, Dhaka, Voice 9
The 12th National Parliament
election is going to be held on January 7. Ahead of this election, 1,151
platoon members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed across
the country to maintain law and order.
A large number of BGB members
have been deployed on Friday, December 29, on the predetermined day. BGB Public
Relations Officer Md. Shariful Islam confirmed the matter.
He said that one thousand and
151 platoons of BGB have been deployed across the country, including the
capital, to make the upcoming 12th National Assembly elections free, fair, and
peaceful and to maintain peace and order. BGB will work as a mobile and
striking force to maintain peace and order in electoral areas across the
country, including Dhaka, from December 29, 2023, to January 10, 2024, under In
Aid to the Civil Power to support the local civil administration.
Before this, on November 20,
the Election Commission Secretariat held a meeting on the possible expenditure
of the law and order forces in carrying out the election duties. It is not
known how many members of any force will be on election duty. A total of 7
lakh, 47 thousand, and 322 members of various law enforcement agencies will
perform duty in the polling field.
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After the meeting, Additional
Secretary of the EC Secretariat, Ashok Kumar Debnath, told the reporters that
there will be 5 lakh 16 thousand Ansar, 1 lakh 82 thousand 91 police (including
Ray Boss), 2 thousand 355 Coast Guard, and 46 thousand 876 members of the BGB.
The armed forces were supposed to be deployed for the elections from December
29 to January 10. But last Tuesday (December 26), a new decision was made
regarding the deployment of armed forces. The Armed Forces Department announced
a new decision to stay in the field from January 3 to 10 instead of December
29.
In the circular signed by
Brigadier General HM Masihur Rahman on behalf of the Principal Staff Officer of
the Armed Forces Department, it is said that, at the request of the Election
Commission, the deployment of armed forces has been ordered in 300
constituencies of the country from January 3 to January 10 to assist the civil
administration.
The armed forces engaged in election duty shall be governed by the provisions
of the Code of Criminal Procedure and other laws and the provisions of Sections
7 and 10 of the 'Instructions Regarding Aid to the Civil Power' issued by the
Ministry of Defense. The deployed armed forces will assist the civil
administration in maintaining law and order as per the Code of Criminal
Procedure on the advice of the Executive Magistrate in electoral work.
1. Armed forces personnel will
be deployed at nodal points and convenient locations in each district, upazila,
or metropolitan area. 2. Armed forces personnel will be deployed in the
district, upazila, or police station in coordination with the returning
officer. 3. The Executive Magistrate will be appointed by the Returning Officer
with a team of armed forces, and the proceedings will be conducted in
accordance with law, rules, and procedure. 4. An area-wise deployment plan will
be finalized at the request of the concerned returning officer. 5. According to
reality and requirements, other legal activities will be done as per the
request of the returning officer and assistant returning officer. Rekidal can
be sent to collect basic data on the communication system, physical
infrastructure, and electoral environment of the constituency a few days before
the election. It is requested to limit the number of Reiki parties.
Fuel, maintenance, and rent of vehicles on deployment of armed forces members,
daily allowance of armed forces members, contingency, camp/accommodation,
water, electricity, gas, and telephone bills will be borne by the Election
Commission.
