Bangladesh to deploy Army to maintain order ahead of Jan 7 elections

Bangladesh Army said on Monday that it will deploy troops to maintain law and order as the country gears up for January 7 general elections that the opposition parties demand should be held under an interim non-partisan government.

The Election Commission (EC) wants us (armed forces) to be deployed to stage a free and fair election in a healthy atmosphere. We ensured them of all-out support, the armed forces division's principal staff officer Lt Gen Wakar-uz-Zaman told a media briefing here.

The announcement came after Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal and other commissioners met with concerned civil and military officials at the commission office.

Zaman said the Army troops would be deployed across the country in aid of civil power for 13 days from December 29 and we will extend our support to the commission the way it wants.

He said the armed forces deployment was not a new phenomenon as they were called out during past general elections as well but termed today's discussion an initial meeting with the commission.

Election Commission Secretary Jahangir Alam told the briefing that the EC sought the armed forces' assistance in line with Home Ministry suggestions. Still, no work plan was chalked up on military engagement yet.

He said the EC would now seek President Mohammad Shahabuddin's approval for armed forces deployment since he is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, a largely ceremonial position.

The EC announced the polls schedule on November 15 amid continued political unrest when the election commission chief noted that despite the need for a congenial atmosphere for a smooth election, for a long time, there exist differences of opinions among political leaderships on the question of election, particularly over the institutional method of the polling.

In a veiled reference to the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies, Awal said his office invited all registered political parties who were reluctant to take part in the upcoming polls for dialogues with the Commission but they rejected the invitation.

The Election Commission chief urged political parties to seek a solution, evading conflict and violence adding It is not impossible to find a consensus and solution through dialogues, discarding mutual sense of revenge, distrust and lack of confidence.

But he asked the nearly 110 million voters to freely exercise their rights franchise in an enthusiastic atmosphere, discarding all worries, tensions and unease.

Ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia's BNP has repeatedly been saying no election under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Awami League government would be fair and asked the government to quit to pave ways for an interim non-party neutral government to oversee the polls.

The Awami League has rejected the demand, saying elections would be held under the incumbent premier Hasina in line with the Constitution.

BNP had boycotted the 2014 election but took part in 2018 polls, which party leaders later said was a mistake alleging that the voting was marred with widespread rigging and intimidation.

The US and other major Western countries called for dialogue between the ruling Awami League and the opposition to ensure an inclusive and credible election, which however, saw no headway visibly due to reluctance by both sides.

According to media reports, over 10,000 opposition leaders and activists including BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir have been arrested in a nationwide crackdown while BNP claimed the figure to be as high as 20,000.