Law enforcing agencies to be deployed for 5 days ahead of 13th parliamentary polls

Law enforcing agencies will be deployed for five days before and after the 13th parliamentary election and the accompanying referendum, the Election Commission says.

The commission had previously announced the election schedule, setting Feb 12 as voting day.

According to the plan, law-enforcing personnel will be in the field from Feb 9, three days before the election, until Feb 13, the day after the vote.

The deployment plan was detailed in a “special circular on law and order” for the election issued on Thursday.

The circular said all forces, except Ansar and the Village Defence Party (VDP), will be deployed for five days, covering three days before the vote, the day of the election, and one day afterward.

Ansar-VDP, however, will be deployed for six days -- starting four days before the election, including the day of the vote, and one day after.

That means centrally-based law enforcing forces will begin deployment from Feb 9, while Ansar-VDP personnel will start on Feb 8.

The circular also stated that the Election Commission will allocate the budget for the deployment in line with prevailing rules.