Election Commission not mulling to deploy army for Narayanganj City polls

The Election Commission (EC) has no plan to mobilise army for the Narayanganj City Corporation polls even though the BNP has asked for it.

The party had boycotted the last elections for the city corporation after troops were not deployed. But it has decided to join the balloting this time, but renewed the call.

"We want the army to be deployed for fair election," senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told a media briefing on Tuesday.

Speaking to bdnews24.com, EC Secretary Mohammad Abdullah said they have no such plans for "the time being".

"The situation does not call for army deployment," he said.

Abdullah said the security situation will be discussed in an upcoming meeting. "The commission will sit with all the agencies and election officials."

Voting for the Narayanganj City Corporation election is slated for Dec 22. The deadline for filing nominations is Thursday.

Until now the balloting was non-partisan, but following an amendment to the rules, it will be held on party lines for the first time.

The Awami League has nominated incumbent mayor Selina Hayat Ivy, who will run with the party's symbol 'boat'.

The BNP has named its Narayanganj City unit General Secretary Sakhawat Hossain Khan.

Khan, a former president of the Narayanganj District Bar Association, represents one of the plaintiffs in the cases over the 2014 murder of seven persons, including a senior lawyer and a city councilor.

The EC had always been reluctant to deploy troops for local government polls, but it had done so for the last general election.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia recently called for judicial powers for the army, which has drawn criticism from many quarters.

While announcing the schedule for the Narayanganj polls, the chief election commissioner had said, "Measures will be taken after evaluating the overall situation. Any and every steps will be initiated to ensure free and fair elections."