By NNN-BSS,
Dhaka : Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr ATM Shamsul Huda reiterated that the deployment of army would be limited in number during the pourasabha (municipality) elections against the main opposition BNP’s demand for army deployment in every area.
“We won’t deploy army everywhere, army will be deployed where it will be required,” he told reporters after holding a meeting with a 12-member BNP parliamentary team led by opposition chief whip Zainul Abedin Faroque at the election commission here.
Replying to a question, he said the elections would be hopefully peaceful. “We want cooperation from all political parties to hold the elections in a free and fair manner.”
During the meeting, BNP demanded army deployment in all the municipalities before and after the elections to ensure fair elections and maintaining peace in the post-election period.
Zainul Abedin Faroque told reporters that they had placed their demands to the EC. “We’ve demanded army deployment in all the municipalities for free and fair polls. The election commission assured us of that,” he added.
He said his party hopes that 80 percent of its candidates would win the polls if held in a free and fair manner.
Election Commissioner Sahul Hossain and senior officials of the EC were present at the meeting. The polls in 262 municipalities will be held on Jan 12-18.