Troops are set to be deployed across the country today ahead of the January 5 general elections to help police and RAB maintain law and order.
Nearly 50,000 members of Army, Navy and Air Force will be on duty until January 9, a senior official of the Armed Forces Division (AFD) said.The armed forces members will report to deputy commissioners (DCs) of the respective districts and their deployment will depend on the requirement of the DCs. As per the Election Commission (EC) plans, a team of 15 members of the armed forces will be deployed in each polling centre outside the metropolitan area, a 16-member team in each vulnerable centre outside the metropolitan area, a team of 17 in each centre of metropolitan areas and a team of 18 members in each vulnerable centre in metropolitan areas.
The voting will take place through 37,711 polling centres across the country.
The armed forces members will perform their duty as per sections 130 and 131 of the Criminal Procedures Act and the regulations and power provided by Article 7 and 10 of Instruction Regarding “In Aid to Civil Power” issued by the Defence Ministry, according to the plan drawn up by the EC.
The army will act as a strike force at nodal points (convenient places to move) in each district, upazila and metropolitan areas. The armed forces will set up their own camps and stay in different areas.
There will be an executive magistrate with each team of the army during the election duty. The AFD has already drawn up a detailed plan on the deployment of forces and their working order on receiving a letter from the EC on Sunday, according to the AFD official.
The troops, now on winter exercise, will be pressed into poll duty from December 26.
-With The Independent input
